


Camp Half Blood Correctional Facility

by Owl94



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Criminals, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Juvenile Detention, Juvie, M/M, Romance, hella profanity, no canon pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-20 10:19:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 70,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10660518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owl94/pseuds/Owl94
Summary: Jason has been sent to juvie for a crime he didn't commit. As if that isn't bad enough, a famous murderer just got transferred there and his new annoying cell mate won't shut up about it. Jason takes Leo's advice and tries to fight the new guy...but turns out this Percy kid has a sword. And that's just the beginning...





	1. First Day In

 It was just Jason’s luck that his first day in juvie would also be the first day of some psycho murderer.

 Every second that Jason sat in the van headed to Halfblood Juvenile Correction Center the part of him that believed this was all a cruel joke or that someone was about to show up and save him got smaller and smaller. It wasn’t until the van pulled behind two layers of very tall fences, one with razor wire, that Jason finally began to panic.

_I can’t be here. I’m innocent! Everyone knows I would never hurt anyone! Not even that jerk Octavian._

Even as he thought this, for perhaps the millionth time in the past insanely long three months he had to acknowledge it just wasn’t true. Clearly, people _did_ think he would do something like that. A “jury of his peers” had thought he had done it. His _actual_ peers at New Rome High School had turned on him. They hadn’t rallied to his defense like he’d expected. In fact some of them had even testified against him!

Jason felt the familiar ache in his stomach as he remembered the trial. Seeing Octavian’s friends had been one thing. It hurt when they called him a snob or accused him of acting superior because his dad was governor, but that was to be expected. Rumors like that were to be expected when you were as popular as Jason, people got jealous. He tried not to take it personally, he knew it just meant it didn’t know him well. When Reyna had taken the stand though, that had been something very different.

 _Come on Jason. She even said she didn’t think you were guilty_. Jason sighed. It wasn’t like she had exactly said she thought he was innocent either. She _had_ said that he was “obsessed with being perfect”, “intensely concerned with his image”, and “never really seemed comfortable at New Rome High”.  Jason had wanted to die when he had heard her say those things about him. Especially because he _knew_ she wasn’t lying. Reyna didn’t lie. That was genuinely what she believed about him. That hurt. Especially because he couldn’t help but acknowledge she was right.

 

The big metal door buzzed open and the guards walked Jason inside Halfblood Juvenile Correctional Facility. Guards introduced themselves. His prints were taken. His clothes were taken, he was searched in ways he had hoped were just a rumor used to scare people out of committing crimes, he was given an orange jumpsuit, a tank top, a pair of boxers, socks, and weird little slipper things to wear and before he could even process everything that was going on he was standing in the hallway outside of his new bunk.

 _I can do this. I can handle anything. This isn’t a big deal._ Jason’s usual pep talk that he gave himself before doing anything that psyched him out apparently wasn’t helping because he hadn’t moved an inch. He was frozen just staring at the doorway that lead to where he was going to spend every night for the next _three to five years_. Every second he spent inside this place made that time window sound viscerally real and unbelievably long. He couldn’t face his bunk and seal his fate. _This can’t be happening to me_.

 “Uh…you ok there bro?”

Jason heard someone speaking to him and it only made the panic intensify. There were actual people around him noticing him. That mean this wasn’t a nightmare. This was real life. Jason began to take deep breaths trying to calm himself down before he completely lost his grip on reality.

“Great. Of course they send me Mr.-I-Did-The-Time-But-I-Can’t-Do-The-Time.”

Jason finally looked over to see who was talking. It was a short Latino kid with slightly messy curly hair. He looked like he was probably two or three years younger than him. He didn’t look particularly threatening but there was a certain wildness in his eyes that Jason a little uncomfortable.

“Uh, sorry. I was just a little overwhelmed. First day, you know?” Jason said with a shrug. He felt his ears redden with that ridiculously lame excuse but it wasn’t like there was much else he could have said. “I’m Jason,” he said and extended his hand to shake.

The younger boy looked at his outstretched hand and then back up to Jason’s face and had WTF written clearly on his face. Jason felt his ears flush even more but mercifully the kid took his hand and shook it firmly.

“Leo Valdez. Bad boy extraordinaire.”

Jason smiled at him, grateful that Leo had gone along with that totally awkward introduction. Leo turned around and began to walk into their cell and Jason followed him. Somehow walking in behind someone made it easier.

“So, you must be the governor’s kid huh?” Leo asked. His tone sounded casual but Jason caught him glancing at him sideways as if trying to appraise him.

“That’s me,” Jason affirmed and he began to put all the inventory he’d been handed (toothbrush, cup, extra socks and underwear, blanket, pillow) in their appropriate places. He wished he had more things to put away, mainly so he would have more things to keep him occupied. Jason desperately didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts.

The good news was Leo clearly wasn’t going to let that happen anytime soon.

“Governor’s son…that’s not bad. My second choice but still better than some nobody.” He looked over at Jason this time openly appraising him. “You look big. You wrestle?”

“No. But I was quarterback of my football team.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Of course you were. Well, whatever maybe we can make those gym muscles count huh? How tall are you like 6’2”?”

“6’3”.”

Leo nodded. “Even better. Actually this is perfect. You and I are going to be a great team.”

“Team? What are you talking about?” That came out sounding a little more aggressive than Jason had expected it to. He hated to admit it to himself but he didn’t like the idea of being associated with this…criminal. With any criminal. _I’m a criminal too now as far as everyone is concerned. I can’t keep thinking like this._

Leo gave him a look that made Jason feel simultaneously stupid and a little frightened about what would happen if he turned Leo down.

“Jason Grace. Son of Julius Grace, our _extremely dedicated_ governor.” Leo’s mocking tone only increased Jason’s worries that this kid was not someone to underestimate. “The same governor who has consistently supported trying teens as adults, more funding for police, the war on drugs, and zero tolerance policies?”

Jason gulped. _Right. I had forgotten that could be a problem_.

“Let’s get this straight pretty boy. No one here wants to shake your hand. No one cares that you were quarterback for your high school, or that you fucked all the prettiest girls, or were valedictorian or whatever the hell else you think makes you special. They _will_ care that the governor’s son is now one of those ‘good for nothing criminals who don’t deserve a second chance’. And let me tell you that was harsh, but these guys will be harsher. Not only will you not get a second chance you might not get a first one. Especially since you look like you walked out of a fucking Calvin Klein ad. You need to make sure these guys don’t mess with you.”

Although a part of Jason knew he was being manipulated he also knew that Leo was right. He might as well have a giant target painted on his back.

“But don’t worry. That’s why Leo’s here. I’ve been here for two years. I know how it works. I know how to get you in and how to keep people from messing with you. Just do as I say, follow my lead, and stop acting like you’re at a fucking campaign rally and you’ll be fine.”

Jason nodded and began taking deep breaths again, hoping he was being more discreet this time around.

“So, we have a deal?” Leo asked.

“Absolutely. Whatever you say.”

Leo grinned at him and laid back on his bunk. “See! You’ve already got the hang of this.”

Jason was about to start asking Leo questions about what they should be doing when someone showed up in their doorway.

“The new guy’s here!” he said excitedly.

Jason sat up a little straighter, preparing himself for what apparently was going to be the first of many people curious about his arrival.

He was surprised when Leo didn’t even glance his way. Instead he jumped out of his bed. “No way. Which cell did they put him in? Is he in our bloc?”

“He’s still in processing. But he should be out any minute now though.”

“Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.”

The guy in the doorway turned to leave and Leo went after him without saying a word to Jason. Jason decided he should probably follow him and jogged a little to catch up. “What’s going on? Whose here?”

“Only one of the most infamous criminals in the juvenile system. He killed that asshole cop who shot a bunch of unarmed black kids a few years ago.”

Jason vaguely remembered that. He remembered his father saying the kid should be tried as an adult…

“I think I know what you’re talking about. Wasn’t he really young?”

“He was 12 years old.”

Jason felt that horrible heavy feeling in his stomach that kept coming over him lately as he tried to imagine how a 12 year old could have possibly killed someone.

“The cop was his stepfather and he was apparently really abusive to him and his mom so the judge was more lenient with him. So he’ll get out when he’s 21.”

 “How old is he now?”

“17.”

 _Same age as me_.

“How did he…you know?”

Leo finally looked at Jason. He was grinning, clearly pleased to get to tell this story.

“No one knows exactly what happened. They never actually found his body. All they found was a trash bag full of Percy’s clothes covered in his blood and the murder weapon.” Here Leo paused for dramatic effect.  “A ballpoint pen.”

Jason couldn’t tell if he should laugh or be genuinely freaked out. “A ball point pen? You’re kidding. How do you even kill someone with a pen?”

“According to the prosecution, by gauging out someone’s eyes.”

Jason felt the blood drain out of his face as Leo’s words sunk in.

“He stabbed his eyes out?”

Leo gave him the grin again, “They found vitreous humor still on it.”

A ripple went through the decent sized crowd that was milling around in sight of the doors leading from processing.

Leo tried to stand on his tiptoes to see over people’s shoulders to see the new celebrity arrival.

Jason was tall enough to see over the crowd. He saw a tall lean young man with jet black hair, toned arms, and tanned skin walk out of the doors looking around him defiantly with sea green eyes that seemed almost hypnotic, but hard and full of defiance. The expression finally brought back Jason’s memory to all the news reports he’d seen about this guy a few years ago.

Jason and Leo said it simultaneously. “Percy Jackson.”

 

Percy had been looking forward to transferring to a new correctional facility. He thought it could be a fresh start, or at least the closest thing to one he was going to get in a very long time. Things had been getting weird at Long Island Juvenile Correctional Center, to put it mildly.

If he was being honest Percy’s whole life had been strange. At first he thought it was just typical poor kid with a shitty abusive stepfather kind of weird but after being in juvie for four years and meeting a whole lot of kids with problems like that he realized that his weren’t like theirs. Perhaps the most glaring example being that their shitty abusive parents eyes never glowed gold and threatened them in Ancient Greek.

 _Nope. Shit like that only happens to me_.

Percy had never expected he would go to jail at 12 years old. He’d never been a great student, but come on! Who goes to jail before they even hit puberty?  He never told anyone but when everything went wrong and he was arrested for killing Gabe a part of him had been relieved. Excited even. The idea of being put in a secure building, always watched by guards, protected by fences and iron bars. It was a dream come true. Maybe he’d finally be safe. Maybe weird things would stop happening to him. Maybe the people with the golden eyes would finally stop showing up everywhere.

He should have known that it wasn’t that simple. Things just kept getting worse. The other kids would begin to glow and say horrible terrifying things to him in Ancient Greek. He tried to ignore them because even when they did it in the middle of the cafeteria or the yard no one else seemed to notice. The last thing he wanted was for people to think he was crazy. Which is why he never told anyone. Not during the trial. Never. He would rather be in juvie than some mental facility for the rest of his life. The second people think you’re crazy, the second they give up on you entirely. Percy had read something somewhere once that said that people with delusions don’t realize they are delusions. They never question the strange things going on around them. All Percy did was question his sanity. It was exhausting but it was the only consolation he had. _I know this isn’t normal. I know something is wrong. As long as I know that I’m in control_.

As if the golden eye problem wasn’t enough suddenly the people around him would start turning into other things. A guard turned into a woman with giant wings and snakes for hair. Thankfully Percy had his sword. A few months before everything went wrong he met some random fisherman who had given it to him at the pier. He had thought it was weird, but something about the guy had made him feel like it was important. It was the eyes again, but instead of being horrible and gold and full of hate they were the same sea green color as Percy’s and they seemed be almost swirling with the comforting movement of the sea. He was one of the few strange things in his life that hadn’t made Percy scared for his life.

Turned out the pen wasn’t really a pen. Whenever he took off the cap it turned into a glowing bronze sword. That had come in handy when Gabe had tried to attack him and his mom that fateful summer. Percy had tried to dump the evidence but the cops had found it all. They found the pen and for them it was just a pen. It didn’t turn into a sword at all. They claimed it was the murder weapon even though person knew better. _Gabe wishes he was stabbed to death_.

 All of that had been weird. But in typical form the second he got to juvie it got weirder. Then pen was somehow in the pocket of his jumpsuit. The guards would search him, he would go through metal detectors, it didn’t matter; no one ever noticed it. Percy tried throwing it away. He tried leaving it in his bunk. He tried burying it in the yard. Didn’t matter, the stupid thing would always end up back in his pocket. Apparently the universe had decided he needed to be haunted by the worst thing that ever happened to him for the rest of his life in the form of an annoying ballpoint pen. _Why couldn’t it have been in my pocket when the cops found the bag? Then they wouldn’t have a murder weapon and I wouldn’t be stuck in this stupid place_.

Even though at first he hadn’t been a huge fan of the pen it had come in handy when the monsters started showing up. He couldn’t even count how many he’d killed now. The weirdest part always being that no one ever noticed. A guard would work there for months, everyone would know their name, and they’d see them every day. Then one day they’d become a monster, Percy would kill them, and no one would even remember that person had ever been there. Percy took this as confirmation that it was having delusions at least he wasn’t hurting real people. Besides that he had the scars to prove that these weren’t delusions. Whenever he showered Percy would look at all the marks on his body, claw marks on his chest, a stab wound near his hip, a burn on his thigh. They were important. They were proof. Proof that Percy wasn’t crazy, he really was being attacked.

Even though people didn’t notice the monsters, they all seemed to notice Percy. People were always watching him, talking about him behind his back. Sometimes people, not monsters, actual human beings around him would attack him too. He had scars from that too. Turns out the stupid sword didn’t work on people. But his fists did and they were more than enough. People had started leaving Percy alone pretty quickly after he beat a 16 year old so badly he had to be hospitalized when he was just 13 years old. After that Percy had become even more of a celebrity than he was before. People would buy him things from the commissary. Everyone wanted him to sit with them at lunch. It was ridiculous.

Whenever a new kid came in and wanted to show he was tough he would attack Percy. Percy never lost but he was getting real tired of having to fight every guy who was trying to gain a reputation for being tough. He’d been hoping he could fly under the radar at this new place. The crowd that was waiting for him outside processing dashed any hope of that happening.

He lifted his head up and pushed his chest out the way he always did. He knew it was important to carry himself like he had no fear, no weaknesses. He also knew from experience that soon someone was going to try to cut their teeth by testing how tough he really was. Percy sighed. _I wonder which one of them is gonna jump me first._  

 

“Jason, you _have_ to fight him!” Leo exclaimed.

They were in bed for the night. As soon as Leo had seen Percy he knew that he was their ticket. He walked in like he owned the place, not even acknowledging the crowd that had gathered for him. This guy was _tough_. He may not have gang tattoos or be the size of a linebacker but it was very clear that he could take anyone. Which is exactly why Jason needed to fight him!

“You said it yourself, he’s gonna kick my ass. How is that going to do anything for us?”

“You see Jason, your problem is that everyone thinks you’re a spoiled rich kid, because you are.” Jason snorted but Leo ignored him. “If you attack the toughest guy in here in your first week, everyone will see that you mean business. Come on, you’re a big guy. You could probably land a few good punches right?”

“Come on Leo, I just want to sleep.”

“I’m not saying win. I’m just saying, do a little damage, draw some blood, make it clear you’re about your shit.”

“Can’t we talk about this in the morning?”

 “No! It will be too late by then! Everyone in here is trying to come up with a strategy to test that guy. If it’s you then _you_ get the reputation _and_ you spare Percy from having to fight someone actually tough. I’m sure once everything simmers down he’ll even be grateful to us for coming up with this perfect plan. He just has to have a little fight, like an exposition. It’s basically Wrestlemania. We know he’s gonna get the belt, but you get the honor of challenging him.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure he’ll be super glad if I, how did you phrase it? ‘Jump him in the yard first thing in the morning’.”

“Exactly! You see, you’re finally getting it. So then, once he’d indebted to us he joins _our_ team and we become the most important guys in here.”

“Let’s say you’re right about all of this. Let’s say I fight him. Everyone is impressed. He ends up being grateful and befriends me. What makes you think we’ll include you in any of this?”

Leo felt his stomach drop. He’d hoped that Jason was green enough he wouldn’t think of that.

“Because you guys need me! I’m the brains of the operation!”

Jason made a sound between a sigh and a groan and rolled over so his back was to Leo. “Sure Leo, you’re a genius.”

“I know! I tell people that all the time!” Leo joked. Jason ignored him and Leo was smart enough to take the cue. He lay in his bunk and tried to fall asleep. He was feeling even more tightly wound up than usual. A part of him was incredibly excited about his new plan with Jason and Percy. A part of him was worried Jason would pussy out. Another part of him was worried that Percy would straight up kill Jason and Leo would be back to square one. Add to that the fear that Jason was going to turn on him and just beat the crap out of him instead and Leo had a lot on his mind.

To calm himself down he mentally walked through the steps of building a supercharged V-8 engine. He desperately missed cars. Taking them apart. Putting them back together. Modifying them to make them faster and more bad ass. Driving them. Stealing them.

When he was around cars Leo felt calm. Focused. Something that never happened otherwise. People were always telling him to try meditation or yoga. He wanted to tell them to try salvaging the engine from a wrecked Porsche 911 or joyriding around the backroads in a supercharged Tacoma.

As Leo drifted off to sleep he felt the nervous energy in his body finally retreat a little. The constant heat in his face and palms finally subsided. Relieved he let himself slip into sleep, repeating the same thing he always told himself before he fell asleep. _It’s ok. I’m safe now._

 

 

 _Why is it always the tall ones?_ Percy asked himself. He’d been out in the yard for about 5 minutes when he saw a giant blonde guy with a tiny Latino kid who looked a little unhinged leering at him. Percy sized them up and felt something weird about them. Their eyes weren’t glowing bronze and their skin hadn’t suddenly turned into scales or their legs into a snake body. Still, they didn’t feel the same as the other regular kids who usually attacked him.

_Oh no. What if the delusions are getting worse? What if it spreads to everyone?_

Percy began to subtly stretch and jump around to get his heart rate up for the fight that he could feel brewing. Part of it was on purpose, showing that he wasn’t scared and he knew that something was coming for him. Part of it was because Percy hated going into a fight cold, he usually ended up pulling something.

 

 

 

“Oh shit, do you see that?” Leo said, sounding way more excited than Jason would have liked.

Jason looked over Percy. He was warming up for a fight. Percy caught his eye and held it as he continued his warm up. _He’s warming up to fight **me**_.

Jason had never been a fighter, but something in him suddenly woke up. That pesky need to be the best. His ultracompetitive and image conscious side that he tried to quash under heavy layers of humility reared their head. Something about that Percy kid just made him feel…strange. The heavy stone in his stomach was completely forgotten, replaced with a roaring storm that was screaming for him to fight.

 _Great. My perfectionism is literally going to kill me. Well, if I die today at least I won’t be stuck here anymore_.

With that thought Jason listened to his instincts and charged at Percy.

           

 

Percy saw Jason, who was about 30 feet away, suddenly come sprinting at him. That was surprising, but not nearly as surprising as the giant gust of wind that accompanied him and knocked Percy flat on his back.

_I knew it! Fuck, I hate that I’m always right._

Percy took advantage of his position on the ground and wrapped one of his legs around Jason’s ankle as soon as he got close to him. He jerked with all his might and easily knocked Jason off balance long enough to get up. Percy didn’t hesitate to step up and deliver a game ending blow to Jason’s groin with his knee. Somehow Jason saw it coming and managed to headbutt Percy before his leg made contact, knocking him back and making it so the blow missed it’s intended target and just hit him in the thigh. Painful, but not enough to put him down.

Percy saw that Jason had broken his own nose head-butting him. Blood was trickling down his face but he didn’t seem to care. His expression was strange. He didn’t look angry or malicious. He looked…exhilarated. Like someone who had just discovered what he was born to do.

 _Great. I’m glad he’s enjoying beating me up at least. I would hate for it to be a chore for him._  

Percy closed the gap between the two of them and threw an obvious punch towards Jason’s face. Jason took the bait on blocked it, dropping his off hand in the process. Percy took the opening and slapped him with as much force as he could on the side of the neck. This was a nifty trick he’d discovered. Someone had to tried to explain it to him once, about how a bunch of nerves run through the neck or something, but all Percy needed to know is that if you hit someone there they would pass out.

At least that’s what was supposed to happen. Instead Jason just dropped to his knees for a few seconds, stunned. Percy could already see the bruise starting to form on Jason’s pale skin. _That should have taken him completely out. Something is weird here._

Jason stood up and Percy drew his sword. Jason looked completely stunned. _So he can see it_ _too_. Percy jabbed the point of the sword toward Jason and backed him up against the fence. Somehow seeing it reminded Percy that they were in a prison yard, they should be surrounded by onlookers and have been broken up by guards by now. _So no one else can see us. Should have realized that sooner_.

Percy stepped forward, pressing the point of his sword into Jason’s chest. “Who are you?” Percy demanded.

Suddenly a coin fell out of the sky. Jason extended his hand and caught it easily as if he had somehow summoned it from the heavens. As soon as he closed his hand around it, it turned into a glowing golden sword. He expertly wielded it and knocked Percy’s sword out of his hand in his momentary confusion.

He looked at the sword in his hand in awe and then back at Percy.

“Who are you?” Percy asked again, this time he couldn’t hid the awe in his voice.

“I have no idea.”

 

Leo had thought he was prepared for the worst but he wasn't expecting swords.

Leo had watched every second of the fight between Percy and Jason unfold. When the fight began he saw some other kids take notice, a guard glance over suspiciously when he saw Jason begin to run. But then things had gotten weird. A gust of wind came out of nowhere and knocked Percy flat on his back. Leo had looked around to see if everyone else was as confused as he was but everyone had looked away. The other kids were just milling about like usual, the guard had moved on and was eyeing some guys playing cards on the other side of the yard. 

_Why does no one else care that the fight of the century is happening?!_

Although everyone else's apathy was strange Leo knew he needed to watch this fight. He saw Jason narrowly dodge getting kneed in the groin and deliver a crushing head butt and felt triumphant. Then he saw Percy wind up for an obvious punch and watched as Jason took the bait. 

_Fucking hell, I should have known the pretty boy didn't know how to fight._

He watched as Percy slapped Jason in a fight ending maneuver...and watched Jason only get mildly dazed by it. 

_What the actual fuck?_

Then suddenly Percy had a sword and Leo began to panic. He looked around him in alarm, hoping a guard would show up and intervene for the first time in his life. No such luck. No one appeared to care what was going on. In fact they were all conspicuously looking in every direction except the one where Jason and Percy were. Leo began to think they had the right idea. He began to walk towards a group of guys hanging sitting on a picnic table arm wrestling, casually sneaking glances behind him to monitor whatever the hell Jason and Percy were doing. He felt his breath catch when he saw that Jason had a sword now too and that instead of fighting the two of them were conferring and looking in his direction. 

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

Leo began jogging a little trying to join a group of people. Any group of people. Somehow he knew that being around literally anyone would help keep him safe. Unfortunately whatever sixth sense was preventing everyone from watching the fight was also making them distance themselves from Leo. They didn't even seem to notice he was coming toward them and yet without fail they all would get up and move, increasing the gap between him and safety. And decreasing the space that Percy and Jason had to walk to catch up with him. 

Leo didn't have to look over his shoulder to know that Percy and Jason were after him. He could practically feel them stalking him. It reminded him of those nature shows where a group of lions was after a gazelle they'd managed to separate from the pack. The gazelle knew it was dead. The lions knew it was dead. Even the narrator of the show knew it was dead. It was just a matter of time. 

Leo felt more antsy than usual which was saying something for him. He couldn't stand still. He felt the heat that was always in his hands and face get even stronger, as if his whole body was warning him that death was imminent. Strangely, a part of him felt excited. It felt like the first time he stole a car for a joyride. Even though he was only 11 years old he had known exactly what to do. He'd easily gotten the car to start and intuitively knew when to switch gears as if he was born to drive it. The same intuitive feeling came over him know. He tried to fight it but it told him to stop and turn around to face them. Leo desperately didn't want to get the crap kicked out of him or to be impaled on the giant glowing swords that no one else seemed to be terrified of. 

Percy and Leo were about ten feet away from him now, their swords drawn. 

"Please don't kill me," Leo pleaded. Simultaneously his arms lit on fire. 

 

“I told you bro,” Percy said calmly. Sure he hadn’t called the fire arms, but he’d known something was up with that kid. Percy had noticed he was the only one who appeared to be able to see the fight between him and Jason. Jason had even admitted Leo had been the one who egged him on trying to convince him fighting Percy was necessary. It was clear that this “Leo” wasn’t who he said he was. He was one of _them_ …whatever that was.

Jason’s eyes had gotten wide when he saw the flames. From what Percy understood Jason had never experienced anything like this before. _Of course, that’s a uniquely me problem. At least he can see it too. Finally, someone who can see it too._

Percy lunged forward and swung his sword over his head to bring it down in a cleaving motion. He aimed for the center of Leo’s shoulder, hoping to cut him completely in half. Before he could make contact though, Jason swept his sword in front of him and deflected his blow.

Percy was getting annoyed. He looked over at Jason frustrated. “Dude, come on! His arms are on fire, what more proof do you need?” For some reason Jason just refused to believe that Leo was a problem. Percy hated to admit it to himself but it bothered him that finally, someone else could see what he saw and still they didn’t believe him. It bothered him that Jason hadn’t spent his entire life fighting. That Jason still had the privilege to doubt. Percy had been forced to believe, forced to act, for his entire life. Jason would learn or he wouldn’t, but there was no way in hell that he was going to get in Percy’s way.

Percy threw an elbow hard at Jason and it made satisfying contact with Jason’s nose. Percy could feel the already broken bones move around under the skin. Stunned, Jason stumbled backward. Percy advanced on Leo again. Leo had a look of pure terror on his face. _Finally someone gives me the respect I deserve._ Percy felt himself hesitate as he looked closer at Leo’s expression. _Is he looking at me…_ before Percy could even finish the thought Leo answered it for him. By throwing a ball of fire directly over Percy’s head.

Percy whirled around just in time to watch the ball of flame singe the hair of a giant snake woman. _Shit. That’s new even for me._ The creature was a woman, with green skin and snake eyes that seamlessly turned into a giant snake just past her wait. She sneered down at them.

“Well, well, well. No wonder the call was so strong. Finally, someone interesting shows up at Half-Blood.”

 

Since Leo had been at Half-Blood for a long time now he decided the snake lady wasn’t talking to him. As such he felt he should be able to just walk away from this whole situation and let Percy and Jason sort it out on their own.

Unfortunately, Jason saw him start to saunter off and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him over so he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Percy. _I fucking hate this kid. If we survive this I’m requesting a new cell mate._

The snake woman was surprisingly fast and began darting around, curling herself around Percy. Percy seemed relatively unfazed by this development and began hacking at her scaly body like he was chopping lumber. The woman screeched but continued to coil around him. Soon his arms were pinned to his sides and his sword was no longer any help.

“Uh, guys. A little help here.”

Leo hadn’t even realized that he and Jason had simply been standing there frozen watching everything unfold. Jason stepped forward with his sword then and sliced at the woman’s tail, hoping to free Percy. Leo felt his hands catch fire. He began throwing fireballs as if by instinct. One caught the snake woman in the gut and she doubled over in pain. Jason saw the opportunity and lunged, swinging his sword at her lowered head. He caught her in the temple. His blade much have been sharp because it managed to shear her entire skull in half. The top of her head slid off the bottom. Leo was pretty sure he’d seen that in a movie before. It hadn’t seemed so upsetting then, but now it was pretty horrific. He felt his stomach turn, but mercifully when the body hit the ground it disappeared, leaving only a pile of dust in its place.

Leo looked at Jason and Percy stunned. He could see the same expression on Jason’s face. Percy was wincing a little as he stretched out again. _What the hell is with this guy? Doesn’t he realize he was almost just squished to death by a giant snake lady?!_

The sound of a slow sarcastic clap behind them got all of their attention. The warden was behind them. He had messy black hair and a ruddy face. He was looking at them with almost the same disgust that the snake woman had. He had a leopard print coffee mug in his hand that had big loopy white script proudly announcing “This is probably wine.” Leo had a feeling the cup didn’t lie. He gestured for them to come to him and they slowly made their way towards him. Jason and Percy kept their swords at the ready. Leo didn’t mind that he wasn’t on fire. He didn’t trust that skill. If he needed it, it’d happen. Until then he wanted to be as fully in control as possible. The last thing he needed was to accidentally set his pants on fire right before a major battle…or something much worse.

As they approached him Leo could see that the warden’s eyes were purple. This was weird, but not life threatening. At least not yet.

“Looks like we’ve got ourselves a couple of hotshots. Grayson, Patsy, Liam! My office! Now!” He turned on his heel and marched into the building, not turning to see if anyone was following him.

Percy looked angry. “Why should I follow some jerk who can’t even get my name right?”

Leo clapped him on the back. “Come on Patsy. I don’t think we have much of a choice.”

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. The Warden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warden D has some answers for Percy, Jason, and Leo. They suck even more than any of them could have guessed.

Percy hated to admit it but he was disappointed he wasn’t crazy. That would be better than all this bullshit the warden was telling him.

Percy really hadn’t wanted to follow the guy in the first place. Jason and Leo had insisted. He shouldn’t have been surprised. This was all new for them. They must have been riding an insane adrenaline rush. They were probably excited for the prospect of more weird shit. Percy was sick of it.

 “That happened right? Like you guys both saw the snake lady right? I didn’t make it up?”

 Percy wanted Leo to shut up but he couldn’t blame him. Percy had wanted to ask someone for validation for years.

  “Yeah, and I saw you go all Human Torch on her. How long have you been able to do that?”

 The expression on Leo’s face became much darker suddenly. _Well then. This isn’t as new to him as he’s acting_.

 “It’s happened before,” he replied in a tone that made it clear he wasn’t going to say any more about it.

 Percy filed that information away and turned to Jason. Bruises were beginning to show beneath Jason’s eyes from the broken nose. He looked like hell and it was clear he was finally starting to feel it.

 Percy draped an arm over his shoulders as if they were best friends “First fight, huh buddy?”

 Jason nodded but his expression remained vague. _Something’s going on besides just the pain. He’s putting something together too_.

 They walked to the warden’s office in silence for the rest of the way, all of them mulling over their secrets and speculating about each other’s.

 “It’s about time you lazy fucks got here!” the warden yelled as soon as they got to his office.”

Percy immediately turned around and began to walk away. Jason apparently was back in the moment because he blocked Percy’s exit. He gave him a firm look and Percy sighed and sat down in one of the chairs. The warden had a name plaque that read Warden D. Percy thought it was incredibly pompous that his title was spelled out completely but his name was abbreviated.

“So, who do we have here?” Warden D began scrutinizing some files he had in front of him. “Sons of Poseidon and Jupiter.” He looked up at them with a begrudging respect Percy wasn’t expecting. “Impressive. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten any big names around here.”

“What are you talking about?” Jason asked. He sounded freaked out which surprised Percy. He was content to let this weird guy continue his gibberish, he wasn’t buying anything this guy said. He had four different coffee mugs on his desk. They were all animal print or rhinestone encrusted. This guy was a joke.

The warden let out an exaggerated sigh. “All brawn and no brain huh? Typical son of Jupiter. Well, I’ll slow it down so even you halfwits can understand it. You’re all what people used to call demi-gods.” He gave them a disdainful look. “Not that you deserve the title so don’t expect me to call you that. You’re half-bloods, plain and simple. Half mortal, half god.”

Percy actually laughed. The warden glared at him. “Something funny Pretsy?”

Percy met his gaze, unruffled. “You really think we’re gonna buy that shit? If we’re half god than why are we in this hell hole? Shouldn’t we be living in mansions or saving the world or some shit?”

 Warden D gave him a very level look that somehow was much scarier than all the scowling he’d been doing. “You’re in this hell hole _precisely_ because your parents are gods. Your godly blood attracts monsters of all sorts. They can literally smell you. It’s dangerous, most of you die. Used to be we didn’t care but the gods have gotten soft. They decided we needed to do something to protect all the half-bloods. They needed to be in contained spaces, surrounded by humans to mask their smell, preferably with heavy security to keep the monsters away. Sound like anywhere you’ve been?”

 Percy felt himself get cold. He really didn’t want to believe this guy but it did explain a lot.

“So we came up with a solution. All the boys go to juvie. It keeps them safe, teaches them to fight, and masks their smell thanks to all the other kids around. Plus then if they make it to adulthood they probably wind up in prison. Same thing, everyone’s safe, everyone’s happy.”

“What about the girls?” Leo asked.

Warden D rolled his eyes. “They gave Lupa the job of taking care of the girls for some reason. She has them all sent to her when they’re little. They get an invitation to this fancy kindergarten or something.  All their parents send them of course. Lupa trains them young. They learn mythology. They learn Ancient Greek and Roman. They learn to fight.”

“Whoa, whoa, hold up. You’re saying that boys gets sent to _jail_ but the girls get to go to prep school? How is that fair? Why did would you even split us up anyway?” Percy surprised himself at how angry he sounded.

“Let’s get one thing clear _I_ didn’t do anything. If it was up to me we wouldn’t do anything for you brats. Do you even know anything about Greek and Roman mythology?”

 Percy shook his head no. He hadn’t exactly had a ton of time to study classics while he’d been in juvie.

Warden D gave a disgusted snort. “Well, if there’s one thing you need to know about the gods it’s that they can’t keep it in their pants. I mean that’s why we have so many of you to deal with in the first place.” He looked over at Jason with a playful expression that made Percy’s skin crawl. “Especially your father. Man I could tell you some stories about that guy. Have you heard about the time he turned into a swan to get Leda to sleep with him? He’s a freaky guy.”

Jason looked like he was going to vomit and Percy couldn’t blame him.

“Anyways, the thing about you half-bloods is you get some of the attributes of your godly parents. Like my kids, they all love booze. But who doesn’t?”

“Wait, are you saying you’re a god?” Leo interrupted.

The warden shot him a glare. “Hades, you guys and you’re questions. I haven’t even answered the last one yet. _Of course I’m a god_. Dionysus, god of wine, so you better act right. You have no idea who you’re messing with.”

 Percy was sure he could easily take this guy, god or not, but right now he wanted more answers.

 “Wait, what were you saying about uh…being like our godly parents?”

 “Well you tell me son of Poseidon. What happens when you’re injured and you get in water?”

 “I heal,” Percy admitted, awed that this guy had known that somehow.

 The warden turned his gaze to Jason, “And you. Natural born leader, always trying to be fair, control of the winds, blah, blah, blah.”

 Then he turned to Leo and gave him a suspicious look. “You’re a little different. Son of Hephaestus. Pretty boring. Good at building, mechanics, that sort of thing. But you also got the fire powers. It makes sense since your father is the god of the forge but it doesn’t happen often. Not sure why a great power would be wasted on such a scrawny kid but whatever.”

 “But if there’s one thing all half-bloods get from their parents it’s their sex drive. That’s why we keep the males and females apart. It’s bad enough we have to manage you guys, we don’t need you popping out a million half-blood offspring.”

 Percy’s mind had pretty much gone blank as soon as the warden had commented on his sex drive. _Nope. I just…nope. Not gonna think about that_.

“So if we’re all here to be kept safe then why were we just attacked by a giant snake woman?” Leo asked. Percy had to give him credit, his mind was working pretty fast. Percy still wasn’t processing all this very well.

The warden shrugged. “Monsters always get through. We have especially good security here so it’s less common. At the regular facilities they slip through all the time. As I said, they can smell you guys. Since these two hotshots both arrived on the same day they all probably got a strong whiff of half-blood. Echidna is the mother of all monsters. I’m sure our defenses were simple for her to get through.”

“Are there other demigods here?” Jason asked.

 Dionysus shot him a withering glare. “Yes, there are plenty of half-bloods here. Not as many as there used to be thanks to that know it all Chiron, but yes. Like 30 something I think.”

 “Then why hasn’t Leo seen any of this before? He’s been here for two years!”

 Percy looked over at Leo who had begun to sink into his chair, trying to hide from everyone’s gaze.

Warden D gave him an incredulous look. “Lazlo? He’s been here for like three months. Maybe four. I’d been meaning to give him the rundown on things, but I had more pressing things to take care of.”

Jason looked more shocked now then he had during the whole snake-lady fiasco. _That’s right pretty boy, people lie in the real world._  

 “Ok, you guys have taken up too much of my time as it is.” Dionysus began rummaging through a desk drawer that was spewing papers. He pulled out _another_ bedazzled coffee mug and his expression briefly changed from its perpetual sour cast to one of genuine excitement. Eventually he dug out three brochures. They were in terrible condition. Leo’s had a large purple stain on the entire bottom corner, Percy’s was missing half of the front cover, and Jason’s was covered in glitter. On the front in giant early 2000s word art letters, colored in zebra print, they said _So You’re a Half-Blood_. In smaller print (Comic Sans) right beneath it said, No One Cares.

 “You made these didn’t you?” Percy asked the warden.

Dionysus puffed up a little. “You’re damn right son. I see you recognize fine craftsmanship when you see it.”

 Percy tapped the pamphlet on the desk. “It’s almost as tacky as all your mugs. Do you bedazzle those yourself too? And let me guess, you have a water bed and leopard print silk sheets too huh?”

 Dionysus’s face turned the color of red wine. His mouth flapped as words failed him. _Probably because I’m right about it all_.

“I don’t know if you’re a god, but let me tell you something old man. I’m not afraid of some alcoholic windbag who thinks Wine Mom jokes are the pinnacle of humor. You may not care that I’m a demigod, but since you’re stuck here too it’s clear to me that no one gives a fuck about you either. I’ve been fighting monsters scarier than you for basically my entire life. So go ahead, call me by the wrong name one more time and see what happens.”

 

 Later at lunch Jason and Leo were eating in an icy silence. Leo was fidgeting really badly. Jason looked like hell, and clearly felt like it too. The warden had sent him to the infirmary after their bizarre meeting but he was still covered in bruises. The skin beneath both of his eyes was midnight blue and seemed to be getting darker by the minute. The bruise on his neck was a horrible purple. His nose was swollen and misshapen. He looked like hell.

 The other kids had been giving him grudging looks of respect. Some even came up and tried to congratulate him, slapping him on the back and trying to get chummy. Apparently they all remembered Jason and Percy getting into an epic fight in the yard that morning. In their version of it Percy had head butted one of the guards when they tried to break up the fight, earning him a trip to solitary. Jason had ignored them all and they’d all gotten the message and left him to brood on his own. Except Leo of course.

“Do you think Percy was trying to get sent to solitary?” Leo finally blurted out. He couldn’t stand the silence. They _needed_ to talk about this! This was hands down the most insane thing that either of them had ever experienced and Jason was mad because Leo had exaggerated a little about how long he’d been in juvie. They had just fought a giant snake monster and found out they were half god! Clearly, they had more pressing things going on than one little white lie.

“You’re the juvie expert, why don’t you tell me? Or has this never happened before in your grueling _nine weeks_ that you’ve been here?”

“Really? After everything that just happened you’re still hung up on that? It’s called hyperbole. Look it up.”

 Jason let out an exasperated breath and looked up at the ceiling as is asking the gods themselves for confirmation that Leo was the worst.

“Do you really have nothing to say about all this? Like, you just got the shit beat out of you and found out your father is Zeus and you have no questions?”

“Jupiter,” Jason corrected automatically.

 “What fucking ever. Your dad is king of the gods? How are you not stoked about this?”

  Jason slammed his hand down on the table. Leo jumped and people at the other tables all looked over at him, clearly hoping for another fight.

“My father is Julius Grace. His is governor of New York. He raised me all by himself. I am not interested in whatever lies that fucking crazy warden is trying to sell us.”

Leo was shocked. Partially because Jason had actually cursed, but mainly because he couldn’t believe Jason actually liked his dad. Everyone he ever interacted with agreed that Governor Grace was a piece of shit and he had really assumed that Jason would be the President of the We Hate Julius Grace club. Julius Grace being a good father didn’t seem possible at all.

 “Ah, Daddy issues. Those tend to rear their head in stressful situations.”

Jason finally looked up and looked Leo in the face. Leo held his breath, and began to brace to get punched in the face. After a tense fifteen seconds Jason finally burst out laughing.

Leo let out his breath and smiled a little. _People are engines. Humor is coolant. I keep everyone from overheating._ He felt the heat that was perpetually threatening to get out of control in his face and hands. _I’m an expert on not overheating._  

 

Nico spent a lot of time in the solitary confinement area. Not actually in the cells, but it was so dark down there that he could easily blend in and have some time to himself. Nico was definitely not a social person and very little interest in socializing with anyone. They all swore all the time and wanted to talk about all these things he’d never heard of like South Park or Family Guy. Nico hadn’t fully discerned what those things were but he heard enough to tell they were painfully stupid.

Socializing with people who were born decades after you was incredibly difficult. His go excuse for not understanding any of their references was that he was home schooled and his family hadn’t believed in electronics so they had no TV or internet. Even that was a difficult lie to maintain though because then people were always asking him if he was in a cult or if he’d ever even met any other kids before he went to prison and all sorts of other stupid questions. He much preferred hanging out in the shadows.

 He was sitting cross legged on a bunk in solitary, occasionally taking bites of his lunch and looking through a stack of Mythomagic cards he’d just stolen the previous night. _Gods, I love being able to shadow travel out of this place_.

 The sounds of people entering the solitary wing made him freeze. _Don’t pick this cell. Don’t pick this cell. Don’t pick this cell._

 Of course, they decided to put whatever reckless kid had earned himself a spot in the dark in the cell Nico was hanging out in.

The door swung open and Nico easily willed himself to blend in with the shadows. The guards didn’t notice him at all as they shoved as bruised and bloody teen into the cell. Despite his injuries Nico could see that this kids was smirking, like he was pleased with himself.

Nico gathered his things, keeping an eye on the kid and prepared himself to shadow travel out of there.

Before he could though the kid turned and looked directly at Nico, making clear eye contact with him. Nico felt himself freeze. No one had ever seen him when he was in the shadows before.

The kid didn’t break his gaze. His green eyes were swirling, like an angry sea. Even beneath the ugly bruise on his right cheek Nico could see he had beautiful features. His chin was tipped up a little, defiant, making it clear he wasn’t scared and he was prepared to fight Nico if that’s what he wanted. He was older than Nico, probably 16 or so, and his jumpsuit was slightly open and hanging off one shoulder as if it had come off in a scuffle of some sort. Nico could see define muscle, tanned skin, and some scars in just the small amount of his chest and arm that was visible.

Apparently he decided Nico wasn’t a threat because he broke his stare and let out a heavy sigh as he flopped onto the bunk next to him.

“It’s really impossible to get some alone time in this place isn’t it?” he asked casually, clearly not in the least bit curious as to what Nico was doing in the cell or why no one else had noticed him.

Not sure what to say Nico pushed his tray of food toward him slightly. “French fry?”

           

           

           

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know my descriptions are shit but I love how every time Percy shows up someone feels the need to analyze every inch of him because he's just that hot.


	3. A Visit from the Half-Blood House Volunteers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy isn't enjoying his alone time in solitary as much as he expected.  
> Jason is in pain, and unfortunately the worst of it is not physical.  
> Annabeth, Reyna, and Piper are working with Chiron to give hope and an alternative to all the demigods at Half-Blood Correctional Facility.  
> Leo catches fire. 
> 
> ~I saw three ships come sailing in~

Jason was in so much pain. When lights out was finally called Jason more or less passed out instead of falling asleep. As welcome as the dreamless sleep had been unfortunately it hadn’t lasted the whole night. Jason had no way of knowing what time it was when he woke up but he would have guessed two or three in the morning. Leo was fast asleep, twitching every few minutes. Every muscle in Jason’s body hurt. His whole face was throbbing. His neck was too. No matter how he adjusted himself, he was laying on something tender. Jason had been in pain before, in fact he used to think he lived in constant pain, but that had all been nothing compared to this.

The pain was bringing back memories. He really didn’t want to think about what the warden had said earlier. He didn’t want to even entertain it as a possibility, but here in the silent dark, his whole body may have been aching, but his mind was sharp and excited to finally make some connections. Jason had nightmares for as long as he could remember. Horrible bizarre nightmares that he usually couldn’t remember when he woke all. All he knew was that all too often he woke up, heart racing, body aching, and unable to shake the feeling that something was after him. Sometimes he could remember an image or two… a snake like creature that spat poison, a golden sword ringing off the armor of a skeleton, pale women with fire for hair and blood red eyes. The dreams scared him, but not because of the images. The fear was because when he woke up from the nightmares he wasn’t in his bed. He had always managed to end up somewhere else. His living room. The basement. The backyard. Sometimes the football field at New Rome High. On a couple occasions simply on the side of the highway. He knew that sleepwalking was a fairly normal problem but also new that it wasn’t normal to go so far away. It wasn’t normal for his father to never notice that he disappeared at night. Jason had tried to ask him about it once and his father had given him the strangest look, like Jason had grown a second head and said, “What are you talking about, you don’t sleep walk.”

And of course there was the pain. When he woke up he was sore, sometimes he had pulled muscles, almost every time he had cuts or bruises. They hurt, not as bad as he hurt now, but they had hurt, quite a lot. People always assumed he got them from playing football. In fact, the frequently had memories of him going down hard after a particularly intense sac, or getting hit in the face with the ball during practice. Jason never remembered any of it, but everyone else always did. Jason had learned to just play along and tried not to question it himself. It was a facet of his life he had chosen to accept, along with the fact that his father seemed to hate him for some reason, that his mother had died when he was a baby, and the constant feeling that he was trapped, unloved, and everyone was constantly watching him, waiting for him to disappoint them. 

He’d never bothered trying to tell anyone about it. He didn’t trust any of his friends well enough for that sort of thing. The only person he might have considered opening up to was Reyna but somehow it had never felt right. He had a feeling that she had secrets of her own that were much more intense than his, and even though she would listen and would never say anything, he would always know she was disappointed in him. He barely even saw his father, let alone talked to him, so that clearly was not on the table.

He didn’t want to admit it to anyone, not even himself, but he desperately wanted someone in his life who understood. Someone who he felt comfortable being imperfect around. Someone he didn’t feel was constantly watching and judging him. A real friend.

He looked back over at Leo. He was apparently hammering something in his sleep from the way his hands were moving. Jason smiled to himself. _I think I might have found one_.

 

Nico couldn’t sleep. That was pretty normal for him. What wasn’t normal was the giant grin that he couldn’t seem to suppress.

He’d spent the whole afternoon with Percy. Percy had eaten pretty much all of his lunch but Nico didn’t mind. He showed him all of his Mythomagic cards and tried to teach him how to play. Percy hadn’t been very good at it but he’d listened and tried and clearly was actually having fun. He didn’t make fun of the game or Nico’s obvious obsession with it once. In fact, the only thing Percy had made cracks about was himself.

Percy had done a hilarious impression of the warden, and the story about how he had got sent to solitary was amazing. Nico largely ignored the warden, but it was refreshing to meet someone who wasn’t afraid to stand up to that pompous jerk.

Most of their time hanging out had just felt…normal. Like maybe what regular kids felt like when they spend time with their friends. _Except normal kids probably don’t spend the whole time fantasizing about pulling off their friend’s jumpsuit and licking every inch of their perfectly tanned skin_.

Nico blushed at his own thoughts. The gay thing didn’t bother him as much as it used to. That was one nice thing about this day and age, it wasn’t really a problem. Even if it was, Nico wasn’t afraid of anyone. They could say whatever they liked about him, he really didn’t give a shit. He knew none of these people mattered. He also knew that if anyone gave him trouble he could put them through things they would never recover from. The issues definitely wasn’t that Nico was attracted to Percy, he’d seen plenty of hot guys in his life and pretty much knew the drill. The problem was how _intense_ his attraction to Percy was. He’d never experienced anything like it before. He felt…consumed by his desire for Percy. All of his previous crushes paled in comparison.

It was taking all of his self control to not shadow travel into Pecy’s cell right now. _I mean it’s the middle of the night. Everyone is sleeping. He’s had a huge day, I’m sure he’s passed out and wouldn’t even notice_. A part of him kept trying to rationalize it, but Nico had no interest in invading’s Percy’s privacy. _I can’t push him. He’ll come to me. I know he will._

 

By the time Percy woke up, the breakfast tray that had been slid under his door was ice cold. _I fucking love solitary_. He groaned as he stretched out. His body ached, but he’d felt worse. _I should have taken a shower before I got sent down here. Too late now._

He picked up the tray and wolfed down the congealed oatmeal, canned peaches, and carton of orange juice. It was a pretty sparse tray and Percy had a feeling the warden had given very specific instructions to make sure of that. _I’m sure he would let me starve if he could_.

Percy felt pretty good. He’d gotten 10 hours of deep sleep. He got to wake up to the beautiful freedom of being all alone. No one yelling at him about bed check, no forced yard time, no GED classes.

Percy began doing triceps dips off his bunk. His muscles protested but he ignored the familiar pain. The key to always winning fights is to be stronger than pain, and stronger than your opponent. As such he never skipped a day of his workout regimen. Although he was lean Percy still was covered in visible muscle. People would sometimes comment that he had a swimmers body and he always thought it was funny. _They don’t know the half of it_.

Percy had his jumpsuit unzipped halfway and the arms tied around his hips, freeing his torso. Normally he would have kept on his undershirt but today he took it off and tossed it on the floor. _It’s all bloody. I shouldn’t have to wear it. It’s probably unsanitary or something._ Even as he thought all that he felt himself turn and check the corner he’d found Nico in. _I’m sure he’s not coming back. And if he does, so what? This is normal, this is what I do every day! It’s not my fault my shirt was bloody!_

Percy did a full two sets more than usual of every move that day. When he finally finished and collapsed onto his bunk sweaty and breathless he couldn’t ignore his disappointment that Nico hadn’t showed up the whole time.

 

Annabeth could tell right away that Dionysus was in a worse mood than usual. _I really don’t know who thought it was a good idea to put him in charge of anything, let alone the safety of demigods._

Annabeth heard Chiron let out a preemptive resigned sigh as he wheeled himself alongside her.

 “Warden, it’s an honor to be greeted by you personally today. What did we do to deserve an audience today?” Chiron called out. There was not a hint of sarcasm in his tone which Annabeth considered a superhuman accomplishment.

“How many times do I have to tell you Chiron? No. Girls. In. My. Prison.”

Annabeth wanted to roll her eyes but she knew better than to provoke Dionysus when he was in one of his tempers. As if reading her mind Reyna put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

 “Ah, Warden, we’ve discussed this. As long as my girls are following dress code, which they always do, and remain in the designated areas, which they always have, there is nothing you can do to stop them from performing their community service.”

Dionysus scowled at them. It was clear he still wanted to argue, but also clear he had nothing else to say. _Someone’s in a fighting mood today._ He scanned the crowd and his gaze stopped and rested on Piper.

 “Who’s the newbie?”

Annabeth turned to look at her and was fairly impressed that she Piper didn’t look fazed. Piper’s had cast her eyes to the ground, then looked up through her long lashes, stepped forward slightly, extending her hand to shake, and with the sweetest and most sincere voice one could imagine said, “My name is Piper McLean. It is an honor to meet you Lord Bacchus. I never thought I would be in the presence of the greatest demigod of all time.”

The warden lifted an eyebrow in surprise but he clearly looked pleased. “Hmph. Roman girl, huh? The Romans always were more respectful to their betters.”

Annabeth knew the only thing currently stopping her from rolling her eyes was Reyna’s hand still resting on her shoulder.

“I’m glad at least one of you knows your mythology. The gods put me in charge here because I _was_ a demigod, but as this lovely young lady just pointed out, I was the _best_ demigod of all time. I earned my immortality. I made something of myself. What have you done Chiron?” He asked suddenly cutting his gaze to the middle aged man in a wheelchair.

“I have had the honor of training heroes for many centuries now. It is not much, but it brings me great joy.”

Even though Piper was new she must have sensed everyone’s impatience to get inside, and Dionysus’s desire to drag this out.

“It is truly an honor to see the Half-Blood Correctional Facility. I can’t wait to see all you’ve done for the demigods in your care. Should we all go inside so I can witness it all firsthand?”

Dionysus looked briefly dazed again but he nodded and gestured toward the security station they had to pass in order to get inside the prison. He followed behind them and when they got to the station gestured to the guards to expedite their process.

Piper turned back and beamed at him again once they made it past the screening area, in record time. “What an efficient organization you run! I’m sure you must be so busy, after all the gods entrusted you with one of the most important jobs here on Earth. We’d hate to hold you up. Why don’t you go back and attend to all of your important work?”

The warden looked like he was in a fog but he mumbled something in agreement and began to walk briskly away.

Annabeth looked over at Piper. “Well done! When he’s in a bad mood like that it can take forever before he lets us in.”

Piper smiled and looked a little relieved. “Thanks. I’m glad you didn’t mind. I know my gift is a little bit of a…moral gray area.”

Reyna clapped her on the back in what she clearly thought was a reassuring and playful gesture and Annabeth caught Piper wince a little. “Never apologize for the gifts the gods gave you Piper. They are how we survive in a world that’s out to get us, and let me tell you, there’s no one more out to get us than that warden.”

Annabeth laughed. Chiron sent them a warning glance but he smirked a little too. “Ok Piper since today is your first day I want you to stay with Annabeth and shadow her.”

Piper nodded, “Absolutely.” She looked over and smiled at Annabeth and Annabeth couldn’t help but smile back. Piper had only come out a few days ago to spend the summer volunteering at Chiron’s Halfway house. (Affectionately called the Halfblood house by pretty much everyone.) Already though everyone liked her. She was nice. She was eager to help. She was super sincere. All the boys at the house were falling all over her which wasn’t surprising since she was a daughter of Aphrodite, but it didn’t seem to be going to her head at all. _I’m sure she’s used to it._

“So what exactly do we do here?” Piper asked as she and Annabeth walked toward the tables in the library.

“Officially, we’re here as tutors. Preparing people for the GED that sort of thing. And we do that sometimes, but mainly we check up on the demigods and help convince them to get in contact with our legal team to get them out of here and into Chiron’s program. We help them with their case during the process. We teach them Greek and Latin, familiarize them with their myths, all the things we learned while we were with Lupa. Except the fighting of course. That would look pretty suspicious.”

Piper nodded, Annabeth knew she already knew all that but was just trying to make conversation. Annabeth didn’t mind, she enjoyed explaining things. In fact…Piper probably realized that too.

They sat side by side at a circular table and waited for the boys to show up. Annabeth glanced over at Reyna and noticed she was with Chiron instead of at her own table like usual. Annabeth knew Reyna well enough to know that she would have never asked for his support, but she also knew Chiron well enough to know that he would never make her. Today was her first day volunteering since Jason got sentenced here.

Jason’s trial had been a fiasco. Everyone had scrambled, doing everything in their power to replace Jason’s lawyer with one from their legal team of Satyrs but his father had refused to budge. When that hadn’t worked they’d tried to sway the hotshot lawyer Jason’s father had hired to plead Jason out to a stint at Chiron’s home. Again, Jason’s father refused to listen, and insisted they go to trial and maintain his son’s innocence the whole time. It wasn’t like he was wrong, everyone knew that Jason was innocent, Reyna had made that very clear during her testimony, but they also all knew it wasn’t enough. They weren’t just working against the ridiculous American justice system, they were working against the Mist, and the Mist was almost impossible to beat.

The daughters of Hecate all worked with the Satyrs to combat the Mist but their success was hit or miss. Hazel Levesque was the best at manipulating the Mist but even she hadn’t been able to swing Jason’s trial. It was because he was a son of one of the Big Three. Odds were always stacked against them. Everyone had been surprised he had managed to stay out of trouble for so long, but unfortunately it had found him.

Some boys began to fill the room and Annabeth watched them all disperse to the various tables. Most of the demigods they visited had a favorite volunteer, usually one with the same godly parent. There were some new faces today though. A wiry Latino kid whose hands were twitching at his sides as he looked around the room nervously.

Piper made eye contact with him and gave him a big smile. “Are you new?” she asked sweetly.

He nodded, looking spellbound at her. “Why don’t you come over here with Annabeth and I? She’s been doing this for a long time, I’m sure she’ll be able to explain everything to you.”

The kid practically lurched forward. Annabeth suppressed a giggle. She wasn’t sure how much of that was Piper’s charm speak and how much was this kid being thrilled to get to sit and talk to Piper.

Annabeth glanced over at Reyna one final time. Some of her regulars were at her table and Chiron had drifted off to oversee everyone else. _No sign of Jason. Interesting._

_Be cool. Be cool. Be cool._

Leo could feel his heart racing. He couldn’t remember ever feeling like this before. The room was full of beautiful girls, which after nine weeks in an all boy’s prison felt pretty much like he’d walked straight into heaven. But he couldn’t even see besides the girl with the beautiful voice.

Her skin was dark, like his. Her hair was a gorgeous chestnut color, and her eyes were a kaleidoscope of green and amber, like he was looking at sunlight streaming through tree leaves. She had high cheekbones and perfect lips, that were soft and full, but clearly natural. Her nose was straight and a little severe, but somehow that just made her look even more perfect. She was wearing a white t-shirt that had the word “Volunteer” spelled out in generic block lettering, yet somehow even this boxy shirt, clearly designed to hide her figure, clung to her, revealing her slim body, and perfect breasts. Her clothes, the table, the fluorescent lights, hell even the air itself all seemed like it was trying to do everything it could to make her look as perfect as possible. She had her hair half up, pulled back with braids, while the back flowed down her shoulders.

Leo had never seen anyone so beautiful in his entire life.  He was so awestruck by her that for just a moment he stopped fidgeting, and simply sat down in the chair, transfixed.

“Hi, I’m Annabeth. Daughter of Athena,” Leo heard a voice but couldn’t bring himself to tear his gaze from the girl in front of him.

There was a brief awkward pause and then the voice continued. “And this is Piper, daughter of Aphrodite.”

Piper made eye contact with him and smiled. Leo felt his stomach twist. “And you are?”

Leo wasn’t sure he could even breathe, let alone speak, but he heard himself respond. “Leo Valdez. Son of Hephaestus.”

“It’s nice to meet you Leo, did you know our parents are married?” Piper gave him another dazzling smile. “Not a very good marriage of cour…” she began to continue but she trailed off and scooted away suddenly in shock.

Leo finally regained some semblance of control of his thoughts as he began to panic. _Shit. What did I do?...Damnit! Not again._

Leo’s nose was on fire.

He reached up and smothered the flame with one of his hands and tried to concentrate on not blushing, because he knew if he did it would happen again.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and jerked away from it instinctively. He looked up and saw a middle aged man, with white curly hair and a salt and pepper beard in a wheelchair looking at him muted amusement.

“Well, Leo Valdez. It looks like we have a lot to talk about.”

 

Reyna made sure she was the first one to the bus so that she could get the single seat at the far back. She had been bracing herself to see Jason for so long now and thought she was prepared for the worst. She had not been prepared for him to not show up at all. Nothing flustered Reyna more than being caught off guard. It didn’t happen very often, but that just meant it got to her even more on the rare occasion it did.

She settled into her seat and tried to relax for the 45 minute drive back to the Half-Blood House. Although it was technically a halfway home for the rehabilitation of male juvenile offenders plenty of female demigods lived there too. They had their own separate wing. Most just came to volunteer as “tutors” over the summer. That was pretty true, the girls had all gone through Lupa’s school. As such they tutored the boys in Greek, Roman, mythology, as well as hand to hand combat, archery, monster fighting, and all the other essential things a demigod needed to know. Others, however, did that year round, like Reyna. She had lived at the Half-Blood House ever since she came from Puerto Rico. She attended New Rome High during the school year, along with the rest of the half-bloods in the area, but she lived and breathed for the Half-Blood House. It was her one safe place in an otherwise hostile world.

For a long time she’d grappled with just telling Jason everything. She had wanted to desperately. She saw him come to school cut and bruised and knew it wasn’t from football practice. She knew he was out in the world all alone, somehow trying to survive with no answers and no help. She had tried to tell him more than once but every time he would mishear her or forget immediately. The Mist was working so hard against him. Reyna knew it was because he was a child of one of the Big Three. The gods didn’t want him out in the world. The gods didn’t want him to exist period. In fact, they’d probably let him stay out of jail for so long hoping he’d just die and they wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. But Jason was a fighter. He was a survivor. He would do anything in his power to make it in the world so finally the gods had framed him.

Watching Jason in the courtroom during her testimony had awful. Reyna felt so guilty, like all of this was somehow her fault. She knew that was ridiculous but she couldn’t shake the feeling. Her job was to protect all of the demigods at the Half-Blood House. She took her role very seriously, and even though Jason wasn’t one of theirs yet, it was still her responsibility to defend him from the world and she had failed. _It would be nice if just once the gods weren’t working against me._

She heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. She looked up and saw Annabeth had taken the seat in front of her and was turned around looking at her now.

“You ok?”

Reyna felt all the tension leave her body. Annabeth was another fulltime resident of the Half-Blood House. She’d been there since she was twelve. They’d grown up together. The two of them were the most senior members of Chiron’s place. They’d fought countless monsters together, stayed up late telling secrets and crying about how cruel the world and the gods were, and mourned more friends than any teenagers should ever have to. Reyna loved everything about Half-Blood House, but nothing more than Annabeth. She was Reyna’s favorite person in the entire world, the person she trusted with every fiber of her being, the one thing she thanked the gods for every single day.

Reyna gave a weak smile and nodded wearily. She put her hand on the seat back and Annabeth interlaced her fingers between hers reassuringly.

Annabeth couldn’t give people her strength the way Reyna could, but her touch helped calm Reyna nonetheless. Reyna never wanted to let go of her, she wanted to pull her into her and wrap her arms around her, to feel Annabeth’s arms around her neck. But, as with everything in her life, Reyna knew she had to show restraint. She did her best to simply enjoy this small platonic gesture on the part of her best friend and to let her mind clear of anything else.

Movement caught Reyna’s eye and she quickly pulled her hand back. Piper was walking down the aisle toward them. She must have realized she interrupted a moment because she looked a little sheepish as she gestured towards the empty spot next to Annabeth.

“Do you mind if I sit there?”

Annabeth scooted over toward the window and said easily, “Of course not!”

The two of them exchanged warm smiles and Reyna felt a sharp spike of emotion in her chest. She willed it away and willed herself to remain composed. 

_Love starts wars. You don’t get the luxury of feelings like that. Too much rests on your shoulders._ The familiar self-chastisement chafed more than usual today. Suddenly the idea of a 45 minute bus ride sounded more like eternal punishment.

 

Jason definitely was not happy to have been beaten up, but he was grateful that the guards had taken one look as his bruises and agreed to let him stay in bed that day. Leo had promised he would give him all the details about the Half-Blood House program before he left. Jason really didn’t care one way or another. Last night when he’d been unable to sleep he’d remembered more than he would have liked, including something that actually made him grind his teeth in anger.

Reyna had been a volunteer for the Half-Blood House program. She’d tried to convince him to join it a million times. Somehow he’d always forgot or was busy whenever it was time to actually go with her to get involved.

_She knew. She knew about all of this and didn’t do anything. She let them send me here to rot._

The anger was new for Jason and it was becoming almost blinding. Normally he would have been able to reason with himself, to have given Reyna the benefit of the doubt or thought more analytically about all of her invitations to work with her. All of that was out the window though. Jason was furious. He almost got up and stormed into the library after all, wanting to fight her. He wanted her to see how beat up he was, to make her realize the full weight of what she’d done to him.

He hadn’t though. He knew that he didn’t really want to fight Reyna. He knew that all of this rage was just the winds ruffling things up before a real storm. Jason needed to confront his real problems, and fighting Reyna would not help that.

Also he was in so much pain he had a feeling Reyna would easily kick his ass.

He groaned and rolled over on his bunk, wishing he could just fall back asleep. He didn’t want to face anything. Not monsters. Not Reyna. Definitely not his “Daddy Issues” as Leo had called them. That brought up way too much. His fear of intimacy, of abandonment, his compulsive perfectionism, the unshakeable feeling that he would never be good enough. Those feelings had been weighing him down for as long as he could remember. They were so much a part of him he wasn’t even sure where to begin processing them, or if it would be possible to let them go.

Jason wanted to curl up in a ball but his bunk was too small for him to bring his knees up. _Maybe I should just go fight Reyna._

He stood up and stretched out gingerly. He was just about to leave his cell to see if the Half-Blood House people were still in the library when Leo came barreling into their cell and ran straight into Jason’s chest.

Jason doubled over in pain and Leo dropped a bunch of papers on the floor.

“Oh shit. Sorry man. Didn’t see you there,” Leo said as he began gathering up all the papers frantically, as if worried Jason was going to snatch them away from him. Once he had them all he clutched them to his chest protectively.

Jason sighed and flopped back onto his bunk. “Great. You’re acting even weirder than usual. Well, go ahead, spill. What happened?”

Leo’s eyes where shining when he looked over at Jason. “I fell in love.”

 

           

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't put the ships in the tags yet because who knows I might change my mind but if you feel it brewing it's a coming. I will update the categories when it happens but get ready, things are getting angsty and maybe even a little steamy in coming chapters. I might have to up the rating so be mentally prepared for that. If you have a strong objection to it...sorry probably won't stop me.


	4. The Selfie Heard 'Round the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo's brothers have some bad news for him  
> Jason makes some new friends  
> Nico can't say no to Percy  
> And Piper changes Reyna's life with a gym selfie

For once in his life everything was going great for Leo. He could admit that he’d been pretty offended that the warden had waited nine whole weeks before telling him that his father was a literal god but it was totally worth the wait.

Now that he finally knew he was a son of Hephaestus he got to go see the Chiron House volunteers during their twice weekly visits. That meant in just one short day he would get to see _her_ again. Piper. Just her name made him feel a little giddy. Everything about her was intoxicating.

Believe it or not there was even more good news. Now that he was officially recognized as a son of Hephaestus he had been assigned to the shop. He’d desperately wanted to be assigned to it initially but had been turned down. Apparently it was a super difficult assignment to get. Come to find out that’s because only sons of Hephaestus got to work there.

When he walked into the big metal shed he was greeted by the smell of oil and freshly soldered wires, and the sound of a hammer and electric drill. It was so wonderful he almost wanted to cry. _Home. I’m home._  

Of course, then his siblings had to go and ruin everything.

 

Jason had been assigned janitorial duty. There were a couple children of Hermes with him, along with a few mortals.

“Psst,” Jason heard someone behind him. He ignored them and continued mopping.

“Psst,” he heard again, this time from the other side.

Jason really didn’t want to turn around but he had a feeling this would go on for a long time if he didn’t. He turned and saw the two sons of Hermes were behind him. They were both leaning on their mops and smirking.

“So son of Jupiter, huh?” the one on the right asked him. Travis? Connor? Jason had no idea how to tell them apart.

Jason shrugged, “That’s what they told me.”

“Jupiter. God of light and sky” – his tone became dark suddenly as he continued –“of justice and _laws_.” He practically spat the last word. He looked over at his brother, “Hey Connor, whose idea do you think it was to put all of the half-bloods in jail?”

“That’s a good question Travis! It would have to be someone powerful. Someone all the gods would listen to. Someone really invested in the justice system probably.”

The two turned to look at him simultaneously and Jason felt a surge of cold fear run through his body.

“Does that sound like anyone you know Jason?”

Jason tried to look unruffled. “Come on Travis, I’m stuck here just like the rest of you. It’s just as unfair to blame me for who my father is as it was for you to be sent here because of who your father is.”

“Unfair,” Connor repeated. “You really are a son of Jupiter aren’t you? I’m sure the _unfairness_ of you being here haunts you all the time doesn’t it?”

Jason didn’t know what to say, he knew better than to admit Connor was right.

“Here’s the thing Jason,” Travis began, walking toward Jason as he did. “You have _two_ fathers, both of whom we have a real serious problem with. They both made it pretty clear that their mission in life was to let us rot in jail for the rest of our lives. Now we’d hate to be _unfair_ to you and blame you for all of that. So let’s get some things straight. Connor and I have some pretty useful abilities that come in handy when you’re trapped in prison. We worked really hard to be put on janitorial duty so we could put them to good use. So if you just happened to notice something, let’s say something a little outside the official rules, how would you handle that?”

Travis was only about a foot away from Jason’s face now. Connor was still leaning on his mop and smirking. Jason was surprised at how afraid he was of these two skinny kids, but something told him he really shouldn’t mess with them.

“Well, seeing as how the system is already stacked against us... It would be pretty unfair if we had no way to carve out something for ourselves. There’s no reason to follow an unjust law.”

There was an uncomfortably long pause and Jason began to regret his choice of words. Surprisingly though they both started laughing.

Travis was laughing so hard he leaned on Jason’s shoulder to steady himself. When he finally stood up and wiped the tears from his face he looked at Jason and all of the threat from earlier was clearly gone. It was replaced by a mischievousness that Jason detected no hint of malice in.

“You’re really a nerd aren’t you?”

Jason was a little surprised by the question but then he found himself smiling back down at this kid. He could barely even see his blue eyes beneath the curly brown hair that feel into his face. Travis had been right. Jupiter, Julius Grace, and who knows how many other people had conspired against this kid. They had taken away his ability to have any semblance of a normal life, made it clear he didn’t deserve to be young and free and happy. To have friends and go to prom, let alone go to college or start a family. So many forces had conspired to rob them of all the simple joys of being a person and yet here he was, still somehow finding a way to be happy. To have fun. To get something out of his life.

_Wow, maybe janitorial duty is exactly what I needed._

 

Nico had managed to wait a whole day before shadow traveling back down to solitary to see Percy. Percy had told him he’d got himself sent there because he wanted some alone time and Nico was doing his best to respect that. He even went so far as to shadow travel to a different cell and then knock on Percy’s door, just in case he still wanted his privacy.

“Nico?” Percy asked when he heard the knock.

Nico felt his heart race, just from hearing him say his name. _Come on Nico, control yourself._

“Yeah, you want to hang out?” Nico felt himself blush. _Gods that sounded so stupid._

Nico could practically hear the smile in Percy’s voice. “I’d love to, but you know I can’t open that door for you right?”

“It’s called respecting your privacy!” Nico called back before shadow traveling into his cell.

Nico felt his breath catch in his chest as soon as he laid eyes on Percy. He was standing across from the spot Nico used to enter the cell, arms crossed across his bare chest. He was gleaming with sweat and smirking at Nico with a playful arrogance that made Nico’s stomach flip.

“It’s about time you showed up! You left me down here all by myself yesterday.”

Nico was flustered but he knew an opportunity to play hard to get when he saw one. He somehow managed to tear his gaze from Percy’s abs and gave a noncommittal shrug. “You said you wanted some alone time. I didn’t realize you’d miss me so much.”

Percy sat down on the bunk across from Nico. Nico was hyperaware of the fact that Percy still had made no effort to put a shirt on.

“Do you think your shadow traveling could work with another person?”

Nico felt his spirits sink a little. _I should have known. Of course he just wants me to break him out, it’s not like he actually wanted to spend time with me._

Nico scowled at him a little. “I’m not sure, why?”

“I could really use a shower.”

 

Reyna never would have guessed that a selfie would be her downfall.  

Reyna had spent the bus ride back to Chiron’s place brooding. She put in her headphones and stared at the window to make it very clear she didn’t want to interact with Annabeth and Piper. She didn’t want to hear them getting along famously. The two of them had been friends back at Lupa’s when they were little, and although they had lost touch for a long time, clearly they had reconnected immediately. Beyond that they both had Greek parents. Some people thought the line between Greeks and Romans was negligible these days, but Reyna could clearly see that Greeks tended to hang with Greeks and Romans with Romans.

This divide seemed particularly relevant in this case. Reyna was a daughter of Bellona, a goddess who was exclusively Roman. Meanwhile Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, a goddess who had been demoted, to put it mildly, in her Roman form. Reyna knew that Athena was one of the most vocal opponents of the way the Greek and Roman demigods had been blended. The other gods largely didn’t have a problem with it so she was outvoted. Still, her disapproval was well known and it lingered around all of her children.

Annabeth had always made a point of embracing the Roman demigods, almost as if she was trying to prove she wasn’t defined by her mother’s view of things. People were usually smart enough to avoid bringing up the Athena/Minerva issue but on the rare occasion they did Annabeth would always just say. “That? Oh it’s ancient history.” People were always smart enough to just laugh and move on.

They never really talked about it but Reyna was always aware of the Greek/Roman division that hung between her and her best friend. Seeing Annabeth and Piper click so easily just confirmed her fears.

When they finally made it back to Half-Blood House Reyna went straight to her room without acknowledging anyone. Half-Blood House was a huge old country house set on 30 acres of land. The main house was an imposing two story mansion complete with six white columns. Temporary volunteers usually stayed in one of the dozen bedrooms on the top floor alone. The bottom floor had Chiron’s office, a living room, formal dining room, rec room, enormous kitchen, and even more bedrooms where a few satyrs lived.

Usually the volunteers gathered in living room to go over everything with Chiron and the satyrs but Reyna needed space. Just this once she gave herself permission to shirk her responsibilities. Chiron had been with her basically the entire time that day anyway so it wasn’t like she had anything to tell him.

Reyna’s room was in building 1, a large dormitory behind and to the left of the main house. There was only one other dorm, building 2 and the competition between the two buildings was fierce. Reyna was in charge of building 1, Annabeth building 2. The two of them always complained about not being able to live together, joking that it was exhausting being the only two responsible people at the whole place.

Reyna leaned back on her closed door and let out a calming breath. She was glad to have this retreat. To the left of the door was her desk. In front of her desk was a giant tear off wall calendar that she kept carefully updated. To her right was an oversized mirror that ran from floor to ceiling in the corner of the room. She’d commissioned it from the Hephaestus kids. Her bed was against the far wall of the room. Her sheets were white, save for a purple silk border on the edge of the top sheet and each pillow. Her comforter was the same color purple, with gold embroidery. Sometimes it felt like a little much to Reyna, but she had to keep up appearances as all times. Kids were frequently coming into her room and she could tell it comforted them to see Reyna’s personal space this way. It solidified their concept of her as a true Roman leader. Always efficient, patriotic, and unsentimental. Reyna’s room couldn’t be messy or covered in posters or basically like any other teenagers room. Her room was an extension of her image. Sometimes it bothered her but today it felt like a reminder. _Sentimentality is for other people_.

 

Reyna changed out of her volunteering clothes and into a purple sports bra and black workout leggings. She threw on a hoodie, changed into her athletic shoes, shoved her iPhone into the pocket of her leggings, grabbed her gym bag off the hook beside her door and headed to her happy place.

Reyna loved working out. People would always gave her strange looks when she told them but it was true. It was one of the few things in her life that felt like it was entirely hers. In the gym she was fully concentrated on herself, on pushing herself, on celebrating and testing her own strength. She could just put on her music and tune out the whole world.

Reyna warmed up by jogging for half a mile around the track to get her heart rate up. She’d actually already been to the gym that morning. She led a workout class three mornings a week. It was a common bet around Chiron’s Place that the loser had to attend Reyna’s class. Newbies were most likely to agree to it, most people who’d had to attend against their will refused to ever risk repeating the experience again.

Reyna decided to do some body weight exercises. She did three sets of burpees, mountain climbers and pushups. Her heart was pounding and she was beginning to feel the delicious heat of a good workout. She moved on to side planks followed by plank punches. Reyna was in the zone today. She could feel the sweat pouring off her body. Her abs were starting to quiver and it only made her even more motivated. She moved on to Roman twists, adding a 5 pound medicine ball to make them extra difficult. By the third set her entire body was shaking in protest. She willed her legs to stay off the ground, and her chest to remain lifted. Her abs were on fire now. She actually smiled as she powered through the pain. As she completed the last five twists her thoughts were in time with her movements. _I. Am. So. Fucking. Strong._  

She let herself collapse onto her back, and a giant smile crept over her face. She was on a serious exercise high, one even more intense than usual. She let herself ride the endorphins and embrace the joy. It was one of the few moments in her life she let herself be completely unrestrained. She let herself lie there basking in her own triumph while her favorite song finished playing.

Once it was over she stood up, planning on toweling off and then moving on to some machines. She actually jumped when she saw Piper standing a few feet away. A little embarrassed she took off her headphones.

“Sorry, didn’t realize you were there.”

Piper didn’t even acknowledge her comment.

“Holy shit Reyna. Look at your abs!”

Reyna was caught off guard by her comment and couldn’t come up with a reply. That didn’t matter because Piper clearly wasn’t done.

“Flex!” she said and although Reyna normally chafed at being told what to do it didn’t bother her. She flexed and Piper let out a little squeal.

“That’s unreal! Talk about a six pack! Can I take a picture for my Instagram?”

Piper was so excited it was rubbing off on Reyna. She laughed, “Sure, but you have to be in it too.”

“Thank gods you said that, because I know exactly how I want to pose. Here, take my phone. Hold it up. Yeah, just like that!”

Suddenly Piper crouched down so her face was level with Reyna’s stomach. “Ok, now flex!”

Reyna flexed and Piper stuck her tongue out as if she was licking her abs. Reyna was feeling cocky so she lifter her free arm and flexed her bicep before snapping the photo.

“This is the best photo ever. Everyone is going to love it! Don’t worry, I tagged you in it. For the caption I’m thinking ‘Body like a Greek god.’”

Reyna felt her spirits sink a little. “Roman actually.”

Piper quickly picked up on her change of mood. “Shit. Of course. Sorry.” There was a brief uncomfortable silence, but Piper was the first to break it again.

“Oh look! Someone’s already liked it.” She looked up at Reyna through her lashes a little smug. “Hmm. Annabeth was the first one to like it. No surprises there.”

Reyna was glad she was still flushed from working out because it hid the blush that she felt rising. She reigned herself back in and didn’t skip a beat in replying. “You guys are getting along really well. It must be nice to get to reunite after all this time.” Her tone was light and cool, no hint of jealously or any other undertones that could betray her.

Piper rolled her eyes. “Come on, don’t be that way. I know you aren’t a huge fan of me, and I know why too. But here’s the thing. I can help you. You’re both so…stubborn and practical. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something there. You just need a little nudge into emotional territory.”

Reyna glared at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Thanks for the picture, but I need to finish my work out before dinner.” She made a vague gesture toward the weight room and then headed in that direction, her poise not slipping for one second.

She heard Piper let out a frustrated sigh from behind her. “Ok, fine!” Piper called after her. “But don’t think that’s going to stop me from getting you guys together. It’d be easier if we worked together though, so when you’re finally ready to make this happen, let me know!”

 

Leo’s brothers hadn’t been as friendly as he’d been expecting. When he first entered the workshop no one even seemed to notice him. Everyone was intensely focused on their work. Two appeared to be building land mines. Another had a whole table of old random electronic parts out in front of him and appeared to be trying to salvage a clunky old desktop computer. One project really caught Leo’s eye though. One of the ancient prison vans was in the shop and Leo could just see the feet of some lucky kid sticking out from beneath it.

He headed over there almost as if pulled by an external gravitational force, too strong to resist. He ran his hand lovingly over the vehicle, the first he’d been able to touch in far too long. _What’s wrong friend? How can I help you?_

Leo heard the sound of a walkie talkie going off followed by a loud thunk from beneath the van and a muffled expletive. The owner of the feet slid out, a bruise already forming on his forehead from where he’d apparently head butted the van just a second ago.

The kid looked briefly startled when he saw Leo standing over him but his expression quickly morphed into a scowl. “Who exactly are you?”

Leo tried not to be too taken aback by this unexpectedly gruff greeting. “I’m Leo Valdez. Son of Hephaestus. I’m new.”

The kid looked like he was about fifteen. His hair was blonde, but it was full of motor oil on one side. His face was smeared with it too. He was very pale and vaguely unpleasant to look at in a way that Leo couldn’t quite explain.

“I’m Christopher.” His walkie talkie buzzed again. He looked at it angrily. “What, what do you want now?”

There was some static sound and then a voice came over. “The hot water is complete gone. Can you check the heater?”

“On my way.” Christopher looked over Leo’s shoulder. “Shane! Come with me, something’s going on with the water heater.”

He started to walk away, completely ignoring Leo.

“Uh, is it ok if I work on the van while you’re gone?”

Christopher made a vague gesture without turning around to acknowledge him. “Do your worst. The thing’s been completely rebuilt at least four times now. I keep telling the warden we’re mechanics not miracle workers but he doesn’t listen.”

Although he was a little disconcerted by the less than enthusiastic welcome he’d received Leo was so excited to have a chance to work on a car again he barely even processed it. His hands were already moving of their own volition, unable to contain their excitement for the tools they’d finally get to hold again.

Leo grabbed a tool belt from the wall and began walking around the workshop gathering everything he had a feeling he’d need. Just from the brief contact he’d made with the van earlier he had a pretty good idea what needed to happen, and a solid game plan about how to accomplish it all.

Leo was rummaging through a pile of random old metal parts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Leo jumped, he’d been so focused on digging through the scrap parts he hadn’t heard anyone approach.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Jake. I’m kind of in charge around here, I guess.”

Jake looked like he was about 16. He was a little stocky with a barrel chest and thick arms. He had black curly hair that he wore long and loose, down to his shoulders that made him look a little bizarre. He was visibly covered in black hair, even the backs of his hands were hairy. He had a lumpy pink scar beneath his ear and Leo could tell that there were more around his neck that were hidden by his wild hair. Again Leo couldn’t help but feel he was sort of unpleasant to look at.

“Didn’t I see you in the library yesterday with the Half Blood House people?” Jake asked.

“Oh, yeah. It was my first time. The warden’s been holding out on me forever. But better late than never. Being a son of Hephaestus has some serious perks.”

Jake snorted, “If you call being the only people keeping this prison from falling down a perk.”

Leo wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Obviously that’s not the best use of our skills, but hey, it’s better than not getting to work on anything! Trust me, I tried it for nine weeks, it almost killed me. And those Half Blood House people were cool! Who knew being a demigod means I get to spend two afternoons a week with some serious hotties?”

Jake gave Leo a pitying look. “You’re new so you didn’t come to the table with all the other Hephaestus kids. You should come with me tomorrow. I’ll introduce you to some of our sisters. Cool girls. They always bring schematics of their latest projects and we brainstorm with them. It’s great.”

Leo had a nagging feeling there was something Jake wasn’t telling him. “I mean that sounds cool and all but if I only get to see girls twice a week I don’t think I want to waste my time with my sisters, if you know what I mean.”

Jake sighed. “Look, kid, I can tell your excited and I don’t want to burst your bubble but whoever it is that caught your eye isn’t going to be interested. It’s probably better you get that through your head now before you get real disappointed.”

“What are you talking about? Can demigods not date? Is it because we’re all cousins?”

Jake didn’t laugh which unnerved Leo. “Do you know anything about our father?”

Leo shook his head no.

“He’s a cool guy. He makes Zeus’s lightning bolts. He’s the best inventor and mechanic of all time. He’s god of the forge and can smith literally anything. There’s a lot to be proud of being a child of Hephaestus, but there’s also a price. When our father was born they literally threw him off of Mount Olympus because he was so ugly. He had to rebuild half of his own body. Zeus forced Aphrodite to marry him and she’s spent eternity hating him and sleeping with the god of war, along with literally anyone else but him. Even the goddess of love can’t love our own father. I know it’s hard to hear but” –Jake shrugged—“a love life just really isn’t in the cards for us.”

Leo must have looked as shell shocked as he felt. Jake gave him a sympathetic look and handed him a blow torch. “Welding will help.”

Leo waved it away. “It’s ok, I don’t need it.” He picked up a piece of scrap metal and walked back over the van, his mind swimming.

He realized now that the only thing his siblings had in common, visually speaking, was an aura of general unpleasantness. Something about them made you want to look away. He wondered if that’s how people reacted when they saw him and he’d just never realized it before. He also had a memory now of Piper starting to say something to him the day before. _“…did you know our parents are married? Not a very good marriage…_ ” She’d already started letting him down easy from the second she met him.

The elation Leo had been feeling plummeted into a horrible sorrow. He slid under the van to do repairs and even the familiar smell of motor oil and metal did nothing to cheer him up. He fixed the van in two hours, the first fifteen minutes of which he had simply spent beneath the vehicle crying.

 

Nico couldn’t believe he was doing this. He had promised himself he wouldn’t shadow travel people around. It was too risky. For all he knew Percy would simply run away, or worse, attack him and then run away, and Nico would get in tons of trouble. The warden might even put extra surveillance on him to stop it from happening again. And yet, here he was, in the bathroom of some rich person’s house twenty miles from the prison with the baddest demi-god in the whole place, Percy Jackson.  

Nico had to admit though the look on Percy’s face when he saw the bathroom was so worth it. He lit up like it was the best day of his entire life. He immediately ran to the giant spa tub and began running the water. He looked back at Nico with uncontained joy all over his face. “I didn’t even know they made tubs this big!”

Nico laughed. Percy’s joy was contagious. Nico was still doubting his choice a little but he resolved then and there to at least enjoy it while he could. Percy began to unzip his jumpsuit and Nico felt himself turn bright red. He looked down at his feet, hoping Percy was still too enamored with the tub to have noticed.

“I’m gonna…uh…raid the kitchen. Have fun.” Nico turned and briskly went to leave.

“Bring me back one of everything! And if there’s anything blue bring me all of it!” Percy called after him.

Nico half turned and caught a glance of Percy’s still enormous smile. He had stripped down to his boxers. Nico blushed again and headed for the kitchen.

He took his time going through the kitchen. It was stocked full of food so he had plenty to look at but if he was being honest he was just nervous about going back upstairs. He felt awkward about just sitting there while Percy was in the tub. Naked. How in the world could he be expected to act normal in that situation?

He heard footsteps upstairs followed by a metallic clunk and then a humming sound. Apparently Percy had found the laundry room for his bloody clothes.

“Come on bro, I’m starving. What’s taking you so long?” he heard Percy yell.

Nico sighed. He put a frozen pizza in the oven he’d been preheating. He grabbed two sodas, a box of blueberries, and a giant bag of potato chips and headed back upstairs, hoping he’d be able to act normal. He went to close the refrigerator and noticed a sleeve of sugar cookie dough. He put down the snacks and removed the cookie dough. He’d seen a cabinet full of baking supplies earlier and knew there would be food coloring in it. Sure enough there was.

Percy yelled at him to hurry up again but Nico ignored him. He carefully placed a dozen lumps of dough onto a baking sheet and put three drops of blue food coloring on each one before adding them to the oven. He set a second timer on his phone and finally grabbed the snacks and headed upstairs.

Percy wasn’t even visible when he got to the bathroom. He looked around as he set down the food, wondering if he’d gone somewhere else. He realized there was a slight swishing sound coming from the tub and dared to glance over the edge. Percy was completely beneath the water, eyes closed. He looked completely and utterly relaxed. Maybe even asleep. It made him look so much younger now that his usual bravado was completely abandoned. Little bubbles formed with each breath he took and Nico was delighted to realize he was breathing underwater. It felt magical, like something out of a fairy tale. Nico had experienced plenty of supernatural things in his life, but few of them ever made him so happy. In fact, most of them had left him completely miserable.

Percy’s hair was swishing a little, almost of its own accord. Nico realized that a small current had formed in the bath water and little waves were washing over Percy, as if the water was just as excited about this bath as Percy was. Nico wanted to reach down and touch Percy’s face but he knew better, instead he stepped away from the tub. He sat on the floor by the tub, his back leaning against it so that he was looking away from Percy and waited.

 

Jason was having a surprisingly good day. Turns out the Stoll brothers had _a lot_ going on. They had a lucrative smuggling operation going. Beyond that they also ran a gambling ring and took bets on pretty much everything. They’d even taken bets on who’d be the first to fight Percy. Jason had really long odds since he was so new so lots of people had ended up losing. That made the Stolls very happy. They also would steal literally anything they wanted. Nothing was safe from those two. Jason should have been upset by it, but honestly, he’d had a blast with them. They were fun and Jason felt like he deserved a little fun too.

He sat with them at dinner. They were discreetly handing out envelopes to other inmates. Perhaps the most important things the Stolls did was give a way for everyone to communicate with the outside world, without any censors reading the letters. As children of Hermes, messenger of the gods, they were great at getting messages in and out. Jason knew that there were probably some people who abused this service, but mainly it was kids writing to their siblings in foster care or their best friends at other prisons. There were messages from boyfriends and girlfriends and Jason had a feeling some of them were pretty risqué. A few of the envelopes looked like they had pictures in them. Jason was both surprised and impressed when he learned that Connor and Travis didn’t open any of the letters they delivered. They respected everyone’s right to communicate freely and it made Jason happy. He wished he had someone to write to.

Even though he was enjoying his time with Connor and Travis Jason kept his eye on the food line. Leo hadn’t come to lunch. Apparently it was pretty common for the Hephaestus kids to eat in the workshop so he hadn’t thought anything of it. Still, he was looking forward to seeing Leo now and hearing all about it. He couldn’t wait to introduce him to Connor and Travis.

When he finally did see Leo he immediately could tell something had changed. That morning Leo had been practically jumping in place he was so excited about everything. Now his shoulders were a little slumped over, and his hands weren’t moving at all. He features looked drawn, as if he hadn’t slept for a few days. Jason couldn’t believe he could be so transformed after just one day. _What in the world happened?_  

“Hey, I’ve gotta go check on my friend. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Jason got up and went to sit with Leo. He was at the table with all the other Hephaestus kids, but he was sitting at the far end away from all of them, just staring into his tray.

“Hey, how was your first day in the workshop?” Jason asked, setting his tray down across from him.

Leo barely looked up. “Oh, yeah, the workshop. It was cool. Got to fix a car.”

Jason had known Leo for all of two days and had already been forced to listen to Leo tell him way more about cars that Jason would have imagined possible. If Leo had worked on a car and didn’t feel like talking about, clearly something was really wrong.

Jason lowered his voice a little so that the rest of the people at the table wouldn’t be able to hear him. “Hey, is everything ok?”

Tears filled Leo’s eyes. He wiped them away roughly, smearing some sort of grease on his face in the process.

“Yeah…I just…learned some shit today that was a real downer.”

Jason noticed that one of the kids at the table, a big kid with wild black hair, was looking over at Leo with a mix of pity and understanding on his face. Jason reached across the table and squeezed Leo’s shoulder reassuringly.

Leo looked up at him fully this time and Jason gave him a small smile. “I’m glad I’m not the only one with Daddy Issues.”

Leo actually laughed. “You know, I’m trying really hard to be bitter over here pretty boy. Could you and your handsomeness stop being so nice?”

Jason smirked. “I get it now, you’re uncontrollably attracted to me and that’s what sent you spiraling.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Fuck off blonde superman.”

Jason laughed. “Let me guess, you want to be my Leo Lane?”

Leo let out a groan. “You’re too attractive to be funny, leave the jokes to me.”

Leo looked a little better now, he was sitting up and actually started to eat. “So, how was janitorial duty?”

Jason smiled. “Amazing. I have a ton of secrets to let you in on.”

Leo lifted one eyebrow. “Oh really?”

Jason shrugged, “I mean I’m sure you already know all of them since you’ve become an expert during your _nine weeks_ here.”

Leo groaned again. “You’re never going to let me live that down are you?”

“Not on your life fire boy.”

 

Reyna was strong enough to face most things, but even she could not resist the siren call of social media.

She had run into Annabeth and Piper at breakfast and Piper had made a point of talking about the picture.

“I’m almost jealous, it’s one of my most liked photos ever!”

Annabeth had laughed. “It’s a great photo. I loved the caption.”

Piper had looked over pointedly at Reyna. “You still haven’t liked it.”

Reyna shrugged, “I don’t go on Instagram very often. I totally forgot.”

Piper popped a grape into her mouth then looked over at Annabeth. “Both of you have such dry social media accounts. All of your photos are of old buildings. The only photos you’re actually in are the ones with the two of you at the top of the Empire State Building and the one with you guys at the Hollywood sign.”

Reyna caught Piper’s glance as she spoke. Reyna knew the exact photos she was talking about. She had the Polaroid originals of both of them in her desk drawer.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “It’s not my fault you don’t appreciate architecture. Not all of us can spend all of our time with celebrities you know.”

Piper frowned. “You have no idea how much I hate taking those photos. If it were up to me my account would be private and I could post normal pictures that didn’t take 20 minutes to stage and even longer to edit. But my dad’s publicist says it’s important I have my own media presence.”

Reyna felt her chest get tight. She had totally forgotten that Piper’s dad was a superstar, and that as such Piper was a minor celebrity herself. Her Instagram had hundreds of thousands of followers.

“Wait, that got posted on your public Instagram? So, the whole world can see it?”

Piper looked guilty suddenly as she nodded. “Yeah. I’m so sorry I should have told you beforehand. Sometimes I forget that not everyone knows. Do you want me to take it down?”

Reyna shook her head no. “That’s ok, it’s not a big deal, I just forgot. Wow, how many likes does that photo actually have?”

Piper got out her phone. “A hundred and thirty five thousand. I told you, it’s one of my most popular photos yet.”

Reyna felt her jaw drop. Annabeth looked over at her with a strange expression that Reyna didn’t quite understand.

“TMZ ran a story on it. I’ll show you.” A few seconds later Piper handed Reyna her phone. Reyna stared at an article headline that read “Does Piper McLean Have a Hot New Girlfriend?”

Reyna choked a little.

“What does it say?” Annabeth asked earnestly.

Reyna wordlessly slid the phone over to her, completely at a loss for words.

She watched Annabeth’s eyes widen in shock. She began to scroll and actually read the article, her lips moving a little as she did.

She looked over and gave Reyna a strange smile. “Damn Reyna, I think you’re famous now.”

Reyna noticed that Piper looked very pleased with herself. She gave her a questioning look but Piper just flashed a big smile back.

Reyna pulled out her phone and re-downloaded Instagram. “Holy shit,” she breathed when she finally got logged in.

“What is it?” Annabeth asked.

“I have 70,000 follower requests.”

This time it was Annabeth who choked a little. She reached her hand out for Reyna’s phone. “Let me see.”

Reyna obliged and saw Annabeth’s eyes widen again as she looked at the staggering amount of notifications.

“Maybe I should start coming to your fitness class,” she joked as she passed the phone back.

Piper nodded enthusiastically. “We should both go! I’ve heard so many horror stories, I want to see what it’s really like.”

The two of them began making plans about going to the gym together. Reyna felt shell shocked. Then she did something very out of character. She went to her Instagram settings and changed her account from private to public. Then she went to Piper’s page and found the picture of the two of them. There were already thousands of comments on it but she knew that Piper would see hers. She felt a mixture of guilt and excitement as she typed out her two word comment.

“I’m in.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Blue Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth, Piper, And Reyna are all back at Half-Blood Correctional Facility and Jason is finally ready to face Reyna.  
> Percy has an amazing bath and cries over a snack.  
> Piper gets snubbed for the first time in her life.  
> Annabeth channels her anger into compulsively researching astrology.  
> Love (and angst) are in the air.

Percy never thought he would refer to taking a bath as a religious experience, but he was happy to have been proven wrong.

Percy had really been hoping Nico could just sneak him up to the regular showers while everyone was asleep but Nico had done _way_ more than that. The bathroom in this mansion was palatial. There was a giant steam shower with a rainfall head and body jets, and of course the spa tub. It was enormous. Three people could have easily fit in it. Percy felt like he was dreaming, it was all so wonderful.

Percy began filling the tub immediately. He knew it would take a long ass time to fill it with water. Then he gathered his still bloody clothes and went searching for a washing machine. The bathroom was attached to the master bedroom which had a giant canopy bed, a couch, a TV that rose out of the floor via a remote control. Honestly, Percy was just snooping when he discovered the washer and drier in the walk in closet. _I guess that could be convenient…but I have a feeling these people don’t do their own laundry._  

The washing machine was actually kind of complicated and it took Percy longer than he would have liked to admit to figure it out. He never figured out how to get the whole machine to work but he did accidentally start the drawer beneath it, which turned out to be a mini laundry machine and perfect for what he needed.

With that finally out of the way he wandered out of the bedroom and onto the landing. There was no sign of Nico, despite how long it took for Percy to figure out the washing machine. As thrilled as Percy was about this unexpected field trip he was a little nervous to be alone. He’d basically grown up behind bars, and even that hadn’t managed to keep him safe. Even though Nico was younger and smaller and he’d never seen him fight, Percy wanted him around. He was afraid. He knew he could never tell anyone, but it was true, he was afraid. Everything was already out to get him, who knew how bad it would be out in the open.

“Come on bro, hurry up! I’m starving!” Percy yelled downstairs. Percy thought he might have heard some sounds from the kitchen, but no footsteps. He let out a sigh. _Come on, what do you want him to do hold your hand? Stop being ridiculous and get in the tub_.

Percy stood up a little straighter and tried to get back in his usual ready-for-anything mood. _I can’t believe I have to psych myself up to take a bath._ Feeling a little embarrassed, but trying to look confident Percy returned to the bathroom of his dreams. He hung the towel that he’d wrapped around his hips back up and then tentatively stepped into the tub.

As soon as he touched the water he felt all of his fear melt away. He slid into the water so fluidly it was like he was a part of it. He took a deep breath and it felt cleansing and satisfying, the usual tightness in his chest completely dissipated. He felt the pain that was so second nature to him finally ebb out of his body. The bruises faded. The soreness in his muscles disappeared and was replaced by a bright warm relaxed feeling that spread through his entire body. Percy couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so good.

The tub was so full at this point it was almost going to slosh over the sides. Percy turned off the water and let himself fully sink beneath it. He savored the feeling of being completely and utterly safe. There was no one to fight. Nothing to worry about. No pain to push through. No nightmares coming for him. This was Percy’s personal version of heaven and het let himself let go and enjoy it.

 

Piper was used to getting interesting reactions from people. She wasn’t a huge fan of attention but she had learned to deal with it. She knew how to smile at people and look at them in a way that made them feel special. She liked to think people left her feeling like they were worth the attention they were paying to her. So she was pretty shocked with how Leo acted when he finally noticed her.

Piper was having one of the best summers ever. Volunteering as Chiron’s Place was maybe the best decision she’d ever made. She felt at home there in a way she’d never felt in L.A. Most of the kids there didn’t even know who she was which was a welcome change of pace. She just got to be normal. No, even better. She didn’t have to pretend to be normal. Everyone there got it. They got the nightmares, the monsters, the weird powers that you had to constantly make sure not to flaunt. They had the same problems and somehow, being around a bunch of people who understood made everything so much easier.

Beyond that she got to engage in one of her favorite activities. Helping along the course of true love. She never told people that because it sounded cheesy, even to her, but as a daughter of Aphrodite she could sense these things. She knew when two people were meant to be together. She also knew that people had a tendency to get in their own way. She felt like she was honoring her mother when she helped get people together. It made her feel valuable and connected to a higher purpose.

When she was young she’d read all of the myths she could find about her mother. At first, she’d been disappointed. They all made her sound…shallow and vindictive. Piper was ashamed of her, ashamed that that was the legacy she would be continuing. But she did more research and although her mother was far from perfect she’d been sold short in a lot of the more popular versions of mythology. She’d mentioned this to Annabeth once and Annabeth had rolled her eyes.

“Of course she was. Most of these myths were written by men you know. They’d do anything to make the female gods look bad.”

That had been soothing to Piper. It was nice to realize that maybe things didn’t happen exactly the way the stories said. That maybe her mother was kind and loving and wanted the best for people. Besides, there were so many versions of every story Piper knew that the truth was something only the gods would ever truly know. Piper was ok with that. She liked having room to improve the story. A part of her didn’t really want to know the cold hard facts.

Her latest project, of course, was Annabeth and Reyna. She’d known since they were very young that the two of them needed to get together. Back then she figured they just needed time. But it had been years and _nothing_ had happened. The two of them were just too stubborn and logical and proud. All dumb obstacles to the real vulnerability that was necessary for love to form between two people. Reyna had a feeling if she told either of them they needed to be vulnerable they’d kick her ass. _There’s a reason my mom is a goddess of love. Because people can’t seem to figure it out on their own._  

Piper was looking forward to going back to Half-Blood Correctional Facility. She’d enjoyed meeting the male demi-gods. They all seemed like nice normal kids. She’d felt guilty leaving. It wasn’t fair that they were all stuck in there while she had been out living a fairly normal life. She’d shaken that off though. It wasn’t her fault they were trapped in there, and although she couldn’t do much, she would do everything she could to help them. She had already begun mentally rehearsing the call to her dad to convince him to let her relocate to Chiron’s Place for the rest of her high school career. She was hoping she wouldn’t have to use her charmspeak on him, because that always made her feel guilty, but if she had to she would. These boys needed her, needed her talents, needed her friendship, needed to know at least one person loved them. She would be that person.

She was at a table with Chiron today. She was still too new to this to have her own table and Annabeth was with Reyna today. Something was up with Reyna, but again Piper was too new to have a clue what it could be. All she knew is that Reyna seemed even more serious than usual, like she was bracing for something, and Annabeth had made some lame excuse to be with her. Clearly Annabeth knew something was up and wanted to be there for her. Piper glanced over at them. Reyna was sitting up completely straight. Annabeth was sitting to her left. The way they were positioned it was almost impossible to tell but Piper realize Annabeth was holding Reyna’s hand under the table. Piper heard the sound of the doors opening to let in the boys. Piper saw Annabeth squeeze Reyna’s hand before letting it go.

Piper’s attention was quickly diverted to all of the boys filing into the room. She watched as they filed to the various tables full of volunteers. There was hugging and laughter as people reunited with their friends and siblings. Even though they were just there the day before yesterday she had a feeling it felt like a lot longer for the kids in the jail.

Piper realized she was craning her neck, trying to find Leo. That surprised her a little. She had to admit though, she’d enjoyed spending time with Leo. He was funny…and he looked at her like she was a goddess herself. Piper felt herself blush a little at the thought. _Where did that come from? He’s definitely not the first boy to think I’m pretty and I’m sure he won’t be the last._ Piper felt a little guilty. She was always complaining about getting too much attention. She hated attention. Normally she couldn’t stand having people staring at her…and yet. She wanted Leo to be at her table again. She wanted see the way his eyes glazed over a little when he stared at her. It had felt…nice. She’d liked it.

 _There he is!_  Piper felt herself break into a huge smile when she finally saw Leo walking in. When she caught his eye she waved at him. He didn’t wave back. Instead he averted his gaze and shuffled past, to the table where Nyssa was. He merged with another group of guys heading to her table. She noticed they were toting blue prints. They all seemed to enjoy spending time together. _It makes sense that he wants to spend time with his siblings. This isn’t about me at all. He probably didn’t notice me waving._  

Piper wished she could put charmspeak in her own thoughts. It would nice to believe the things she was trying to tell herself. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel quite so disappointed.

 

Annabeth thought she was prepared for anything, but Jason blatantly hitting on Reyna definitely had never crossed her mind when preparing for this encounter.

Annabeth knew that Reyna blamed herself for Jason being in prison. Annabeth also knew that was ridiculous and that even Reyna couldn’t fight the Mist, especially not for a child of the Big Three. Still, she knew that this face-off between the two of them was going to be intense. So she’d intentionally sat with Reyna, not giving her a chance to tell her to leave. Reyna was always there for her, now it was her turn to return the favor. She might not be able to give her strength, the way Reyna was always able to do for her, but she could try to at least remind her she wasn’t alone.

Reyna was sitting ramrod straight. Her breathing was even, and Annabeth knew if she checked her pulse it would also be perfectly normal. She was perfectly collected and calm, absolutely no emotion was betrayed by her at all. _I can’t feel anything. It’s like she’s completely shut herself off from the world. How does she do that? Why does she do that?_

The only thing that could almost give away that Reyna was bracing herself was the way she was very carefully watching every single person shuffle into the room, just waiting to finally see Jason. Annabeth alternated between watching the boys, and glancing at Reyna. For some reason she felt nervous. Maybe she had picked up all the emotions for Reyna since she apparently didn’t have them, but Annabeth has a slightly queasy feeling in her stomach like something was about to go very wrong.

Reyna didn’t so much as flinch but Annabeth noticed her raise her hand in greeting and gesture to someone so she knew Jason must have arrived. She looked over and gasped. She felt Reyna discretely put a hand on her leg and send her some calming energy which made Annabeth feel guilty. _I’m supposed to be to supporting her, not making this even harder._  

Annabeth put her hand over Reyna’s and squeezed it once. Reyna began to move her hand away but Annabeth held it in place. _No. I’m here for you. Let me be here for you._  

Jason sat down across from them and Annabeth did her best not to wince. He looked horrible. He had two black eyes that clearly had just started to heal but had a long way to go. The side of his neck was covered in a horrific eggplant colored bruise that radiated out into an unnerving green and sickly yellow. Annabeth didn’t want to imagine what could have caused it. _Talk about a knock out hit._  Even though nothing else was visible thanks to the jumpsuit Annabeth had a feeling there were plenty of other injuries to go along with those. _Gods, what happened to you?_  

Reyna was the first to speak. “Rough first week?”

Annabeth felt her jaw drop. _How can she be joking right now?_

Surprisingly, Jason laughed. “You have no idea. Although the fight wasn’t as bad as talking to the warden. He told me my dad fucked a swan or something.”

This time it was Reyna who laughed. “He actually turned into a swan. I tried to get you to take the mythology class with me, but you _insisted_ on taking that SAT prep class.”

Jason nodded, grinning. There was a look in his eyes that made Annabeth feel strange. She hadn’t realized it, but apparently the two of them had been close at New Rome High. Annabeth took all of her classes online and Reyna didn’t talk too much about her time at school. Annabeth felt guilty for not being more interested in Reyna’s life outside of Chiron’s Place. She also was beginning to regret insisting on sitting with Reyna. She felt like a third wheel, something that had never happened to her with Reyna before. She could always count on being closer to Reyna than anyone else, and the idea that she had other friends, other close friends even, made Annabeth feel unexpectedly jealous.

Jason slid his gaze over to Annabeth. She tried to smile at him. “Hi Jason, I’m Annabeth. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Jason gave her and odd look that Annabeth didn’t understand. It didn’t help that his face was so bruised, it made his expressions much harder to read.

“I recognize you. Reyna had a picture of you in her locker. I should have know she would only hang out with other Romans.”

Annabeth wanted to squirm in her seat but she didn’t want to show Reyna how uncomfortable she was.

Reyna gave her a playful look then turned back to Jason, “Actually, she’s a Greek. Daughter of Athena. Her mom is pretty touchy about the Greek-Roman thing. How’d you know I was a Roman?”

Jason shrugged, “I recognize a lot of people here.  A lot of them went to New Rome with us. I’m sure they all tried to talk to me about this too. You’re the only one I even remember mentioning it. There’s something about you…You know, when I first got sentenced I was most upset about your testimony.”

Annabeth felt herself tense, but Reyna still seemed totally calm.

“And why’s that? If I remember correctly I was one of the only people who insisted you were innocent.”

Jason nodded. “You were. But that’s not the part that bothered me. It bothered me that you said I never fit in. That I was obsessed with being perfect.”

 “Your father is the god of justice, you know better than anyone that a Roman should never lie.”

Jason nodded again and Annabeth felt the queasy feeling spread as she saw the glint in his eyes. _Something is wrong. Something is about to happen._

“You’re right. You were right in your testimony too. I _was_ obsessed with being perfect and what did that do for me? Nothing. It didn’t make either of my dads love me. It didn’t convince people I was innocent, even though I was. It sure as hell didn’t mean I had any fun or any friends. You were the closest thing to a real friend I ever had on the outside. You knew I was struggling. Thank you for noticing. I think you might be the only one who ever did.”

Annabeth wished she’d brought her invisibility cap. She wanted to disappear. For some reason she hadn’t realized this reunion would be so…personal. _I shouldn’t be here. I should just get up and go to another table. They’ll probably appreciate it. It’s the respectful thing to do._ Annabeth didn’t budge. She felt like she was anchored to her chair by some invisible force that insisted she had to witness this for some reason, even though she probably wasn’t going to like it. No, probably _because_ she wasn’t going to like it.

Reyna actually reached out a hand and placed it on Jason’s forearm. _What the fuck? Reyna isn’t a touchy person._ If Annabeth had thinking straight she might have realized that Reyna was probably sending Jason some of her strength but she wasn’t. Annabeth had no idea why but she was panicking.

“It would be an honor if you would consider me a friend, a real friend, now.”

She pulled back her hand and Annabeth could see the tears standing in Jason’s eyes. He just let them fall, not bothering to brush them away. For some reason Annabeth found that shocking.

“So, tell me about this Half-Way House thing,” Jason said.

Annabeth almost let out a sigh of relief. Finally territory she felt comfortable in.

The two of them took turns giving the newbie speech they’d given hundreds of times already. Jason listened carefully, nodding sometimes, but otherwise not saying anything. When they finished he finally said something.

“Do you think you could get me into this program?”

Reyna gave him a grim look. “It won’t be easy. You’re a child of the Big Three and the mist works extra hard against you.”

Jason huffed and held out his hand for her to pause. Annabeth felt her blood boil. _How dare he?_  

“Wait, before you continue, everyone keeps telling me that, but what is a Big Three? And what does it have to do with me?”

Annabeth explained to him. Jason listened carefully and she watched his expression morph from just curious to frustrated.

“Wait, so they work extra hard to fuck up our lives just because of who our parents happen to be?”

“Children of the Big Three tend to have more powers than the average demi-god, so they’re more dangerous to just be out in society.”

Without warning Jason slammed his palms on the table. “That’s bullshit! Leo can set himself on fire for fuck’s sake!”

Annabeth was stunned. She’d instinctively raised her hands to block a blow when Jason had hit the table. She lowered them slowly but watched decided she needed to watch him more carefully now. This was more what she had been expecting earlier. She was always ready for a fight. Moving heart to hearts, not so much. _Finally, things are starting to make sense again._  

Reyna shrugged, “If there’s one thing you need to know about the gods it’s that they aren’t fair. But I have a feeling you already figured that out.”

Jason nodded. Annabeth could still see the anger on his features, but there was something else there too… _He’s thinking of something. He’s making a plan._  Annabeth knew better than to ask him about it yet, she knew better than anyone how important it was to have a completely thought out plan before you shared it. She made a mental note to ask him next week. _He’s coming up with something important. I can feel it._

Chiron came up behind them. Annabeth felt him put his hand on her shoulder. “Is everything alright over here?”

Reyna nodded. “Chiron, this is Jason. I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about.”

Annabeth took the hint and got up, moving away her chair to make room for Chiron to park his wheelchair. She started to walk away but froze when she saw Jason reach out and catch Reyna’s forearm, keeping her from leaving.

“Would you do me a favor?”

Reyna raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“Would you write me letters? The Stoll’s have this letter thing they do. I don’t really know how it works but I can ask them.”  He sounded almost desperate and Annabeth began to feel guilty for judging him so much earlier. He needed Reyna the way everyone else did. _Of course he needs her. He just got sent to jail for something he didn’t do, found out his father is a god, and got the shit beat out of him. Gods, what’s wrong with me? That poor guy needs all the friends he can get. I don’t know what came over me._

Reyna smiled at him. “Sure, I’ll write to you. No worries, I already know how it works.”

Annabeth thought that was the end of it but then she saw Jason’s expression change again. He ran his eyes up and down Reyna’s body blatantly, obviously wanting her to know what he was doing. Annabeth felt her hands clench into fists. _What is up with this guy? No wonder he got his ass kicked._

He looked up at Reyna and released her arm, running his hands down the length of it deliberately as he returned it to his table. “You know, there were a lot of opportunities I missed because I trying so hard to be perfect before. I don’t intend to miss them again.” Then he turned to Chiron. “Get me out of here,” his glance cut back to Reyna who was still standing beside him. “I have a friend I’d like to get to know _a lot_ better.”

 

Percy didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep until a giant crash jolted him awake. Instinct made him sit bolt upright, causing water to splash out of the tub and all onto the floor. His heart was racing as adrenaline shot through his body but he didn’t feel scared. He felt invigorated. _Damn. I wish I could take a bath before every fight._  

Percy didn’t want to get out of the tub. He knew that he would be unstoppable as long as he was in the water. Unfortunately, there was no sign of anything to fight in the bathroom. In fact, there was no sign of anyone in the bathroom. _Fuck. Nico, where are you?_

Percy looked down at the floor and saw a bunch of junk food and a carton of blueberries that he had just soaked with bath water. Apparently, Nico had been there but he clearly wasn’t anymore. Any doubts Percy had about what was going on was shattered by a horrible scream coming from downstairs. _Fuckfuckfuckfuck._

Percy acted on instinct, sprinting out of the bathroom and toward the sound. It wasn’t until he had rounded the corner into the kitchen that he realized Riptide was in his hand. _Well, that’s good._  

He froze in the entryway and looked in. The kitchen had been destroyed. The floor was entirely ripped up, all the pots and pans that had been hanging over the island were scattered everywhere, and Nico was standing in the middle of all of it looking pretty unflustered.

“What the fuck did I miss?” Percy asked, stunned.

Nico looked over at him and froze, suddenly looking much more concerned than he had a few seconds ago. Percy spun around, expecting to see something behind him about to attack but there was nothing. He turned back around.

“Come on man, what the fuck?” Percy was flustered. He’d never missed a fight before. It felt surprisingly bad. Percy hadn’t really thought of it before, but he enjoyed winning fights. He liked knowing that no matter what horrible thing showed up they were no match for him. He’d been looking forward to showing off a little and saving Nico.

Nico looked really uncomfortable and he was still staring at Percy for some reason. “Uh, some girls showed up and said they were the neighbors and asked if they could hang out. I said no and they broke down the door and their hair started flaming. It’s all good though. I summoned the ghosts of some spirits that were buried under the kitchen. They dragged them down to the underworld.”

Percy had been dyslexic his entire life. Words would get mixed up and jumbled in his mind and whenever he read things it just turned to mush in his mind if he didn’t try really hard to keep it all straight. He felt like that had just happened to everything Nico had just said.

“Did you just say ghosts?”

Nico nodded. The oven beeped and Percy realized that Nico had been standing around waiting for whatever he’d put in there. _So, he just fought a bunch of monsters by summoning dead people and his response is to wait around for the oven to go off? Who is this kid?_  

Nico pulled a pizza out of the oven and set it down next to a cookie couple of cookie sheets that Percy hadn’t noticed before.

“Look man, could you put some clothes on? It’s hard to explain with you just standing there…” Nico trailed off.

Percy glanced down. _Oh, well that explains a little._

Percy felt more embarrassed than he had in his entire life. _Great. Not only did I miss the fight I showed up completely naked. This is like one of those shitty dreams everyone else always talks about. Of course it ends up being my real life._ He really just wanted to curl up in a ball and never have to have to face Nico again, but he knew that wasn’t an option. _Weakness is never an option. Don’t let him know you’re flustered._  

Percy forced his usual cocky expression onto his face and casually strolled over to the island. “My bad bro, I thought you were in trouble. Next time, leave something for me, huh?”

He leaned against the island so that Nico would only be able to his torso. It was a good compromise, making it look like he wasn’t embarrassed at all about being naked, but also giving him at least a little bit of modesty.

Nico rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll go get your clothes if you’re gonna be like that.” He turned and headed for the stairs. He half turned before he left and gestured to the food on the island. “Leave something for me, huh?” he mimicked.

Percy snorted and rolled his eyes as Nico headed upstairs. Once he was out of his field of vision Percy let out a deep breath. _Well, the good news is there’s no way I’ll ever be in a situation more awkward than that in my life._  

Now that Percy could finally calm down a little he noticed how good it smelled in the kitchen. Pepperoni pizza and something sweet. He looked over at the cookie sheets and froze. There were two dozen blue cookies on the sheets. The only person who had ever made Percy blue food was his mother, and their sudden appearance almost shocked him more than Nico lounging in the destroyed kitchen had.

He heard Nico coming down the stairs and whipped around to face him, not concerned at all about modesty. “Were those cookies already blue or did you…” Percy trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Nico looked a little alarmed. “I dyed them.” There was a brief silence as Percy processed this information. “You said you wanted blue food,” Nico fumbled blushing a little. “Is that…are you ok?”

Percy felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He tried to reason with himself. _So, he listened to me? So what? I’ve only known him for like three days. All he did was dye some cookies. It’s not a big deal. There’s no reason to freak out._  It was too late though. The place that Percy had locked away all of his emotions in for years now had been torn right out, just like the floor in the kitchen. Percy couldn’t do anything to stop the tears streaming out of his eyes.

Nico was looking at him with pretty much sheer terror but Percy didn’t care. He just laughed, even as the tears were still sliding down his cheeks. “Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

 

Piper wasn't handling her first brush with rejection well, but at least she wasn't as crazy as Annabeth. 

Piper had snagged the solo seat in the back of the bus on the way back to Chiron’s place. She wanted some time to herself. For some reason she was still feeling kind of upset about Leo ignoring her earlier. She never had feelings like that and was hoping the bus ride would be a good time to process the emotions. She was sure that it must have just triggered something other painful emotional memory in her, there was no way it was really about him. And yet…she really couldn’t figure out why she was so upset. The only thing she could figure was that…well, she had been looking forward to seeing him. It made sense that it hurt her feelings that he just snubbed her. He was the first male-demigod she had gotten to connect to at Half-Blood Correctional Facility. It was probably her anxieties about staying at Chiron’s Place and helping out that was really upsetting her… _I think._

Piper had been so caught up in her own feelings that she really hadn’t paid much attention to Annabeth and Reyna. It wasn’t until they were at dinner with Hazel that Piper finally noticed something was different. Piper had made a point of sitting next to Reyna, practically jumping into the seat to stop Hazel from sitting there. Considering how rare it was for Hazel to spend time with them and how Annabeth was always pestering her to hang out this confused everyone. Annabeth ignored all the strange stares and gave them all a blinding smile. _Something is up with that girl._  

“So…uh, how was your visit?” Hazel asked as she sat down.

“Good!” Annabeth said too quickly.

Everyone looked at her strangely again and she blushed and took a bite of her dinner.

“Yeahhh…” Reyna said giving Annabeth a confused look. “Jason was there today.”

 _Ah. Something happened with Jason._  

Hazel’s eyes widened. “Was he mad? Did you explain how hard we all tried to get him here?”

Reyna nodded, “Chiron did when he talked to him. He was covered in giant bruises. I think he must have gotten into a really bad fight but he didn’t explain and I didn’t ask.”

Hazel winced. “Shit, of course he gets into a fight during his first week. He must have been livid.”

Reyna shook her head. “He wasn’t mad at all. In fact, he seemed happy to see me.”

Annabeth snorted. “That’s an understatement,” she muttered.

Suddenly it clicked for Piper. “Shut up. He was flirting with you wasn’t he!”

Reyna rolled her eyes. “He checked me out for two seconds but Annabeth seems to think he tried to pin me against the wall and have his way with me.”

“That is not all that happened! I saw the way he touched your arm! And that look! And what he told Chiron! He was an arrogant bastard and I can’t believe you aren’t angry about this!”

“Beth, I told you, you’re overreacting.”

Only Reyna could get away with using nicknames for Annabeth.

Before Annabeth could start arguing with Reyna again Piper cut in. “Slow down. Tell us everything. Every detail.”

Reyna sighed. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“No! I want to know too! This is perfect I haven’t seen you guys in forever. We should have a girls night!” Hazel chimed in.

“Hazel! You’re a genius! That’s exactly what we should do! Reyna can we do it in your room? I want to see what Jason looks like and I know you have pictures of him in there.”

All of the color in Annabeth’s face drained out. “What? Why would you have pictures of him in your room?”

Reyna gave her another baffled look and Annabeth tried to look casual and failed completely.

Piper save them by clarifying. “In the yearbook Annabeth, come on aren’t you supposed be the smart one?”

Annabeth blushed and sighed. “Sorry, something’s up with me today. I don’t know why but my brain is like…scrambled.”

Reyna looked at Piper and it was clear she had no idea what was going on at all. _These two. I swear if it’s not a fight or a blue print they have no clue what’s right in front of their faces._

“Sure, you should all come up. Let’s see if we can convince the aurae to get us some snacks.”

 

Annabeth definitely didn’t believe in astrology. That made it a lot harder to justify the fact that she’d stayed up basically all night studying synastry, but really it was all Hazel’s fault.

Annabeth had volunteered to get the snacks from the aurae while everyone else headed up to Reyna’s room. She needed some time to compose herself. _What is going on with me? I’m being ridiculous. Everyone has been looking at me like I have three heads all night._  

Annabeth could tell that she was overreacting but she was still furious about everything that had happened with Jason. He had so _blatantly_ made it clear he was trying to sleep with Reyna _in front of Chiron_ even! Annabeth had expected Reyna to punch him in the throat after pulling that bullshit but she had just laughed. Laughed! When he had disrespected her in front of everyone! Reyna didn’t tolerate that sort of thing! _She did though. She isn’t mad at all. Why isn’t she mad?_  

As she trudged to Reyna’s room, arms loaded with snacks it suddenly hit her. _She isn’t mad because she likes him back. She isn’t mad because she’s flattered. No wonder she tried so hard to keep him from going to jail! She is into that…prick!_

Annabeth felt a new surge of anger rush through her. _She can’t like him! She’s too good for him! How could she have feelings for that slimy jerk? Is it because he’s Roman? That doesn’t excuse what a creep he is!_  

When Annabeth finally made it to Reyna’s room she had managed to work herself up even more than she was at dinner. She tossed all the snacks on the floor with a disgusted flourish and everyone gave her that _what’s wrong with you_ look again. _Shit. Ok, calm down Annabeth. You can handle this. Everyone has dumb crushes sometimes. Reyna is my best friend, if anyone can make her realize she’s too good for that pervert it’s me._  

“Rice cakes? Dried fruit? Raw almonds? Annabeth, what the fuck is this?” Piper asked, pawing through the pile of food Annabet had just dumped.

This time it was Annabeth’s turn to look confused. “What? This is what Reyna and I always snack on.”

Hazel wrinkled her nose and Piper rolled her eyes. “Of course. That explains the abs.”

Reyna snatched the almonds and smirked at Piper. “Damn right it does.”

Hazel sighed, “Did you really not get anything good at all? Not even some trail mix with M&Ms in it?”

Annabeth gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry, I guess I don’t have that much experience with girl’s nights.”

Piper stood up, “I’ll take care of this. I’ll be right back. Don’t do anything cool without me.”

Reyna tossed a sleeve of rice cakes at her as she left and Piper turned around and stuck her tongue out at her. Everyone laughed. Annabeth had never seen Reyna this playful, at least not with other people around. It was nice, it made her feel like maybe she could loosen up too. But then she remembered the reason Reyna was so happy was because Jason had basically eye fucked her earlier and Annabeth felt herself get all tense again.

“So what’d I miss?” Annabeth asked, sitting down cross legged beside Hazel.

Hazel had Reyna’s laptop open in front of her. “We were just looking at Jason’s birth chart. He’s like a super Cancer. It’s insane. He has four planets in Cancer!”

Annabeth blinked as she tried to process that information. “You’re looking at what now?”

“His birth chart,” Hazel repeated. “It shows where all of the planets were when someone was born. See?” She turned the screen toward Annabeth. There was a circle with a bunch of lines and symbols in various spaces on it that meant absolutely nothing to her.

“These are all the houses and it shows where all of the planets fall within them. Everyone knows their sun sign, but there’s so much more to it than that. Especially when it comes to compatibility, it’s important to look at the whole chart, especially the Venus placements.”

Reyna scoffed. “It’s all nonsense you know. None of that means anything.”

“Ignore her. She’s a Capricorn. And she won’t admit it but she’s been pissy ever since I told her she isn’t compatible with Cancers.”

“Why not?” Annabeth asked. She was glad that Reyna wasn’t compatible with Jason but Annabeth was hyper aware of the fact that she was also a Cancer.

“Well, they are opposition signs, polar opposites. That can be good, but it can also be bad. Reyna is super practical and grounded, whereas Jason is more emotional and nurturing. It could be a good balance, but it could also be difficult, especially since he is the _ultimate_ Cancer. Meanwhile Reyna is the ultimate war machine. Her rising sign is Scorpio, which explains why everyone is terrified of her. Her Mars is in Aries, which explains why everyone _should_ be terrified of her.”

Reyna laughed but Annabeth wasn’t having fun.

Hazel could apparently tell that Annabeth was uncomfortable. “Do you want to do your chart?” she asked.

“No, thanks. I agree with Reyna, all of this is just nonsense.”

Hazel shook her head dramatically as she closed the laptop. “The two of you are so ungrateful for my services.”

Reyna smiled at her. “So, how have things been going with the satyrs? Are you ready to come back and be a normal kid here yet?”

Hazel shook her head. “I swear Hedge is insane. But he wins his cases…somehow. I can’t believe he hasn’t been disbarred yet. He acts like he’s in some court room movie every time he steps before a judge. It’s ridiculous.”

Piper returned then with popcorn, candy, and ice cream.

She and Hazel happily divvied up the hall. Annabeth had some popcorn and had to admit, it was much better than the snacks she’d brought. Reyna had refused all the junk food, sticking to dried berries and rice cakes for most of the night.

The four of them hung out and talked and Annabeth actually had an amazing time. It was rare that she got an opportunity to just spend time with her friends like a normal teenager. It was great. Everyone teased Hazel about Frank. He had come to Chiron’s place about six months ago and whenever Hazel was around her followed her around like a puppy. Hazel threw pillows at them but laughed along with them, admitting “he was kind of cute”. Everyone took that as a declaration of her undying love for him and they began mockingly planning their wedding.

Hazel did a pretty amazing impression of Mr. Hedge that had everyone laughing until they cried. Piper showed Hazel the Instagram of Reyna and the TMZ article it had sparked. Then they’d all made Reyna flex for them. She’d happily complied and a second photo was taken. Piper captioned it “For the love of Grace,” which Annabeth did not find funny.

Reyna and Annabeth both told their version of the encounter with Jason and Hazel and Piper helped dissect the encounter. Hazel was on Annabeth’s side that he had been creepy. Piper was on Reyna’s side that it was no big deal. They consulted the yearbook and unfortunately they all agreed that Jason was “crazy hot”.

The conversation began to veer in a sexual direction and Hazel began fanning her face wildly. Annabeth tried to get them to stop but Hazel had stopped her. She said something about being glad she had an opportunity to be in a time and place where she could have these conversations, even if they still embarrassed her a little. Apparently they embarrassed her a lot less than they did Annabeth because listening to them hypothesize about Jason’s…size had almost killed her.

Annabeth finally made an excuse about having training early the next morning and left at midnight to a chorus of boos. She went back to her room and immediately sat down at her desk and pulled up the astrology website Hazel had been on.

She spend the next three hours reading articles about astrological compatibility, or as it was known in the astrology community, synastry. She made an elaborate spreadsheet that tallied points for and against compatibility between Reyna and Jason. She also had a column for herself on the sheet as a control. _Reyna’s my best friend. I already know we’re compatible. Checking my signs against hers just makes sense, it will show whether or not the system actually works or if it’s really just nonsense._

Despite her justification Annabeth made a point of not putting her name on her column, just in case someone happened to find her spreadsheet.

 

Percy lay on his cot back in solitary and stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He felt amazing. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this good. _Maybe I’ve never felt this good._

He knew he should get some sleep, but he just couldn’t. He felt brimming with joy. He kept replaying the day’s events in his mind. The magical bath. The blue cookies. Sitting on the couch with Nico and hearing all about his life. How he had been born in the 1920s. How Zeus had tried to kill him and his sister. How Nico’s sister had chosen to go live on Circe’s island when Hades had told them it was safe for them to go back to the world.

“She didn’t want to even try to have a normal life. I was so angry with her for abandoning me at first. But, I guess she was right. I tried to have a normal life and look where I ended up,” Nico had said.

In turn Percy had told Nico his story. About seeing monsters his entire life and thinking he was insane. About the night Gabe had attacked his mother and how Percy had drowned him with his own blood. Percy had never told anyone that before. His mother didn’t even know what happened.

“What about his eyes? Wasn’t the whole thing that you stabbed his eyes out?” Nico had asked.

Percy explained about the glowing bronze eyes that were always following him. “They stopped after I killed him…but I was so angry. I stabbed them out even though he was already dead.”

He’d never told anyone that before either. He’d expected Nico to shrink back, to be scared or disgusted but he had just nodded like he understood. Then something unexpected happened. He grabbed his hand. It was a simple gesture. A friend reassuring another friend during a heart to heart. But then neither of them let go.

They sat on the couch and watched a movie and even though neither of the said anything or moved a muscle, they held hands the entire time, not letting go until Nico shadow traveled back to his cell to make sure he made it for head count.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that barely advanced the plot. Multi-chap fics are going to be the death of me because it gives me way too much freedom to fuck around with the fluff and ignore the bigger picture. Anyway, thanks to everyone who commented! I hope you enjoy this! The characters are all so different in this AU but I've tried to fit it to their circumstances, and I like how much fun they have just hanging out since they aren't saving the world all the time. I should probably up the rating since Piper, Percy, and I are big fans of the f-word ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	6. Saturdays are for Scheming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico is forced to socialize  
> Reyna gets her flesh eaten   
> The Stolls makes a deal with Leo   
> Jason is a giant nerd

Reyna had a very strong sense of who she was. She was the daughter of Bellona. She was a warrior. She was a leader. She was a Roman. It was finally time to claim one more facet of her identity. She was a lesbian.

Shocking? Not really. She’d figured it out a while ago, but finally owning it felt so good. It felt a little silly to be so thrilled by giving herself permission to think the word but she was tired of policing her own thoughts. _I’m allowed to think whatever the hell I want. I’m allowed to be happy about things. Joy is not a sign of weakness._  

The only person she’d ever actually said the world aloud to before was Jason. She’d gone to school early one day and found him looking scared and beat up behind the bleachers. She didn’t ask him how he’d gotten there and he’d look relieved. She didn’t have to ask him, she could tell a battle had just taken place, and she could also tell he didn’t remember it.

They’d talked about their classes, their friends, and the conversation kept becoming more important the longer it went on. Somehow being alone had given them the space they needed to talk freely for once. He’d told her about the sleepwalking and nightmares. She had wanted desperately to explain he wasn’t sleep walking and they weren’t nightmares but she knew it wouldn’t work. The Mist would work against her and the conversation would probably end, and she didn’t want it to. So, she’d done the next best thing. She’d told him her only secret that wouldn’t be filtered out by the Mist. She’d told him all about Annabeth.

After that the two of them would regularly meet up before school and just talk. Reyna never told anyone about their talks, not even Annabeth. It was a relief to have something in her life where she felt totally free to be herself. No one there was looking to her to be their leader, be their strength. As far as Jason was concerned she was just another normal teenager. Besides, Jason of all people understood the pressures of needing to look perfect. The two of them had clicked. It had been more superficial than Reyna would have liked. She couldn’t tell him so much because of the Mist but it had been something and it had mattered to her. _Apparently it mattered to him too._  

Reyna smiled as she sat down at her desk and began to write her first letter to Jason.

            Dear Jason,

            Your little ploy to get Annabeth jealous worked a little too well. If you do that again she’ll be the one to give you the black eyes…

 

Jason sat with the Stoll brothers at breakfast. Jason was a little surprised when Leo joined them, even though he had agreed to earlier. Jason could tell Leo was still feeling off and didn’t really feel like socializing. _But he doesn’t want to be around his brothers even more._

“Is it true you can set yourself on fire?” Connor asked Leo, almost immediately after he sat down.

Leo cut Jason a sharp look and Jason shrugged. “Yeah, I can.”

Travis whistled his appreciation. “Man, I could think of so many uses for that. What would it take to convince you to torch the warden’s car?”

Leo didn’t look amused. “More than you can offer. I have no interest in getting extra time, or sent to solitary.”

“Come on man, you can trust us. You almost definitely wouldn’t get caught!” Connor replied.

The two of them had a tendency to have one conversation by simply bouncing back and forth between who would speak, it was a little bizarre, but Jason was beginning to appreciate it. He had a feeling they did to keep people off balance and give themselves an opportunity to trick people somehow.

“Oh yeah, because so many other people here can summon fire on command. I’m sure I would never be suspected.”

“Come on kid, don’t underestimate our ability to spin things our way.”

“It doesn’t have to be his car, maybe just his drawer where he keeps all those fucking brochures.”

Leo smiled and Jason could tell he was actually considering it now. _Everyone hates those brochures._  

“What would be in it for me?”

“Besides all the brochures going up in flames and seeing the warden’s expression? How about a letter from your girlfriend?”

Jason could see Leo’s expression return to the same grim cast it had taken on a couple days ago.

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” he said curtly.

Travis flipped his hair away from his eyes and Jason could see a glimmer in them. _I don’t know how, but I’m pretty sure Leo just walked into a trap._  

“You sure man? That daughter of Aphrodite was looking real sad when you didn’t go to her table on Thursday.”

Leo glared at him but Jason could detect just a hint of something…hope? doubt? acknowledgement? in his body language.

Apparently the Stoll brothers could tell the same thing.

Connor nodded, “Yeah, I even heard her ask Chiron why you went to that table. He had to tell her it was the Hephaestus table.”

Travis leaned back in his chair, “You must have made quite the first impression fire boy. She is smoking hot. She’s famous too.”

The look on Leo’s face made it clear that this was new, and surprising, information to him.

Connor smirked. “You didn’t know? She’s Tristan McLean’s daughter. She has like a hundred thousand followers on Instagram. She’s on TMZ and People magazine and all that shit all the time.”

They paused and let that information sink in, making the silence all the heavier. Unsurprisingly, Leo couldn’t resist and had to break it.

“You’re not just fucking with me are you?”

They both shook their head no simultaneously which was a little eerie.

“Honest, a bunch of guys recognized her when she came in.”

Travis smirked and leaned forward this time, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial tone. “You know, those rich girls like her they’re _obsessed_ with danger. That’s why all those child stars always end up doing drugs or whatever. I’m sure she’s _super_ into the whole prison thing. And you weren’t even framed like pretty boy over here.”

Jason felt a little irked by that comment which surprised him. _Since when is it a bad thing to not be a criminal?_

“You actually stole all those cars. And that high speed chase when you were finally caught,” he whistled again. “Girls eat shit like that right up.”

Leo look entranced. Jason wondered if he should butt in, but decided against it. _I don’t want him moping around anymore, maybe a little hope is what he needs. Besides, what do I know, maybe the Stoll’s aren’t lying. Doubt it, but whatever, it’s not like I know anything about girls._  

This time Connor added casually, “On top of that you can set yourself on fire. You’re like a real life super hero.”

Travis nodded his agreement. “And you played it so fucking smart. Girls like that are always getting attention. I’m sure she never has anyone ignore her though. I saw her wave at you and you just looked away! That’s stone cold my dude, I’m sure you had the girls going crazy for you on the outside.”

Leo looked down at his food and mumbled something that no one could really hear but clearly the Stoll’s didn’t actually care. They were salesmen and they could tell it was time to close.

“What do you say man? We convince her to write to you, you torch the warden’s desk.”

Jason arched an eyebrow. _His desk? Earlier it was just a drawer._

Connor apparently noticed because he shook his head discretely at Jason as if saying ‘come on dude, be cool.’

Jason let it slide again. He felt a little guilty, like maybe he wasn’t being a very good friend to Leo, but he also trusted the Stoll’s. He knew they wouldn’t ruin Leo’s life and Leo hated the warden as much as any of them. Honestly, it kind of sounded like a win-win. It sounded fun, and Jason could tell that Leo needed some fun in his life.

Leo let out a sigh. “Fine, but if she says I’m like her little brother in the letter I’m going to torch your bunks too.”

They both laughed. “It’s a deal my friend.”

A murmur went up around the cafeteria and Jason looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Hey! Look’s whose finally out!” Leo exclaimed excitedly and Jason had to admit, he was glad to see Percy too.

 

Nico knew it was selfish, but he really wished Percy hadn’t been let out of solitary.

Nico hadn’t realized it since he never actually talked to anyone around him but Percy was like a celebrity. He noticed people taking steps back, apparently unconsciously, as he walked down the hall that morning. Murmurs followed him, wherever he went. _Did you see that? He doesn’t have a scratch on him! Jason still looks like he fell off a building! I heard he decked the warden. Did you know they never found his step-dad’s body?_  Rumor mixed with fact, creating what Nico could only describe as myth. Percy had somehow managed to turn himself into a mythic figure even in a world where either you didn’t believe in the gods, or knew about them and weren’t easily impressed. He was larger than life in ways that Nico would have never imagined.

All the attention Percy effortlessly commanded scared Nico. Nico’s number one goal in this stupid prison was to not be noticed and he’d excelled at that. In fact, he was so good at it, that when he sat at breakfast that morning, waiting for Percy to show up, he could see people glancing over at him and then turning to their friends, undoubtedly to ask if he was a new kid they had somehow missed.

Nico was so nervous he didn’t even try to eat his breakfast. He hated to admit it, but he knew there was a chance Percy wouldn’t want to be seen with him now that he was out. _He has a reputation to keep up. He probably won’t want to be seen hanging out with the weird nobody kid who everyone thinks was raised in a cult._  He didn’t want to think about the other aspect of it, but he couldn’t help it. _What if…what if he only wants me in private? Like the second he gets out of solitary he won’t look my way again? What if he regrets everything? What if he doesn’t actually want this?_  

Nico had spent the past two days in Percy’s cell with him. They made an excursion to a nearby lake the previous afternoon for a couple of hours and it had been amazing. Percy was even more excited about the lake than he had been about the bathtub if that was possible. He’d insisted that Nico go swimming with him. Nico hadn’t wanted to, but after his third refusal Percy had sent a giant wave to pull Nico in. Nico had been briefly afraid, but he realized quickly that Percy was wiling the water to keep Nico’s head above the water, without Nico having to do anything himself.

They’d been attacked by a couple of monsters. Percy had _insisted_ that Nico let him fight them himself. Nico thought he was being ridiculous until he realized Percy was trying to show off. Show off. For him. He wanted to impress him. Nico grinned like an idiot the whole time Percy was slicing gorgons to pieces with Riptide.

Nico had laughed when Percy first told him his sword’s name. Percy had looked a little hurt at first, but he got over it when Nico asked if that was the only “sword” he named. They’d gone on like that the whole time they’d been together. Teasing and playing and pushing the boundaries, always carefully watching the other’s reaction. The innuendos got less clever and more direct but neither of them shied away.  Neither made a move either. They were stuck in this infuriating and delicious limbo, both waiting for something, some sign that they could progress further, but neither was willing to be the one to finally initiate something.

Now Nico was sitting by himself in the cafeteria kicking himself for not taking the chance the night before. Percy had given him the perfect opportunity.

They had been playing Mythomagic cards on the floor of Percy’s cell. Percy was winning, for once. They were both sitting cross legged across from each other, so close their knees were almost touching. Percy won and did a ridiculous victory dance that had Nico sprawled out on the floor laughing. Percy reached down to help him up, leaning down to do it.

Nico felt his stomach twist at the memory of how close their faces had been. Inches apart. They locked eyes. Nico felt like Percy’s always swirling eyes were even more restless than usual. They stayed like that, eyes locked, Percy’s arm around Nico’s forearm for one breath…two breaths…three breaths. It was unnatural. They both knew what was happening. Percy was daring Nico to kiss him but Nico just…couldn’t. He didn’t know why, it wasn’t like he hadn’t been fantasizing about it from the second he laid eyes on Percy but he had been frozen. Mesmerized by the ocean in Percy’s eyes and trapped in the endless moment.

The moment did end though. Percy hauled Nico to his feet and flopped onto his bunk. The sudden space between their two bodies snapped Nico back to his senses. He felt stupid and angry. _How could I have wasted that? What’s wrong with me?_

Nico had spent that whole night brooding on his mistake. He resolved that when he saw Percy the next morning he would kiss him right away and get it over with. But then he’d gone down to solitary and heard the guards taking Percy away.

Which left him sitting at a stupid cafeteria table, staring at his tray as he listened to the murmurs all around him, alerting him that Percy was finally there. He didn’t want to look too eager, but he couldn’t help it, he had to see him. _Even if he looks away. Even if he ignores me, I have to see it._

Nico was biting his lip in anticipation, watching the exit from the cafeteria line. Percy emerged and it felt like the whole cafeteria was watching him. He smirked, clearly aware of his audience. Nico had been following the whispers enough to realize that what everyone really wanted to see was Percy and Jason square off. Percy had told Nico all about Jason and Nico during their time together in solitary, but Nico had been so distracted this morning he hadn’t even thought to try to scan the room to spot them.

That ended up not mattering though, Percy walked right by a table with a giant blonde guy covered in bruises and clapped him on the back. He was full on smiling as he said loudly, “Hey man, you look like shit.”

It felt like everyone was holding their breath, waiting for Jason’s response.

Jason just laughed. “You’re an asshole, you know that right?”

Nico could see that a lot of people were disappointed by Jason’s response, but overall Nico could tell that Percy’s audience was satisfied. Everyone went back to talking amongst themselves and Percy stayed standing by Jason, apparently talking about something. Nico expected Percy to sit down at his table and Nico sighed and went back to pushing his food around his tray.

Movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention and he felt himself startle slightly when he saw Percy sitting down next to him. He had brought along Jason, and all the kids from his table too.

“Nico, this is Jason, Leo, and their friends Travis and Connor,” Percy introduced them all casually. “Everybody, this is Nico. Son of Hades.”

“Holy shit, are you telling me we have all of the Big Three at one table?” either Travis or Connor said. Nico had no idea which.

“There’s got to be some way to profit off of this,” the other muttered almost to himself.

His brother nodded in agreement and they fell silent, apparently brainstorming ideas.

Percy looked confused. “Big Three?” he asked.

Jason filled him in and Nico didn’t bother listening. All of his attention was on the hand that Percy had casually slipped into his own underneath the table.

 

It was Saturday. Reyna loved Saturdays. Saturdays were the day that all of the wards at Half-Blood House were lowered for an hour right after breakfast. Monsters would come flooding in, giving all of the demigods a chance to practice their combat in an actual life or death situation.

The new campers didn’t have to fight. They were allowed to just watch from giant wrap around porch from the Big House. Reyna had watched exactly one time, before joining in the next week. She hadn’t been ready. She’d broken four ribs and had one of her knees dislocated. She was nine years old. It was worth it though, because she had been the one who had successfully killed the hellhound. Everyone had picked her up on their shoulders and cheered for her. The memory still brought tears to her eyes on occasion. In that moment she’d known that her mother would be proud of her and she’d worked tirelessly after that to ensure that no matter what was sent her way she would be stronger, faster, and smarter. Injuries be damned, she would always come out victorious, she would always do her mother proud.

Reyna strolled out to the perimeter of the grounds, smiling. The perimeter was the most dangerous place to be when the wards were disabled. Only the strongest fighters were allowed to be on the first line. Reyna had been fighting out here since she was 11.

“You’re in a good mood.”

Reyna turned and saw Annabeth was already standing a few yards to her left. Reyna honestly hadn’t noticed her there, she’d been so busy reminiscing.

“You know I love Saturdays,” Reyna said with a sincere smile.

Annabeth didn’t smile back, she just turned away, looking angry.

Reyna furrowed her brow. _What is wrong with her?_

“Hey, you ok? You don’t look thrilled to be out here. Maybe you should fall back to the middle ground and help them hold it. There are some newbies there today, I’m sure they’d feel better if they had you there to watch their backs.”

Annabeth shot her a glare. “I’m always on the front line. You’re not the only strong one here, you know?”

This time it was Reyna’s turn to be angry. “Look, I don’t know what you’re problem is, but if you can’t think straight you can’t fight. I don’t want to have to watch out for you the whole time. So, either fall back or get over whatever the hell is going on with you lately. A battle is no time for emotions.”

The two of them stood, feet planted, staring each other down. Annabeth was visibly fuming. Reyna just looked immovable, no emotion was in her posture or expression, just strength.

Annabeth was the first to cave. She let out an angry breath and began to stalk away. “Typical Roman bullshit,” Reyna heard her mutter.

Reyna felt her temper flare again. Annabeth _never_ said things like that. _How dare she?_  

Reyna, turned towards Annabeth’s retreating figure. “ _What_ did you just say?”

 

Annabeth froze. _Shit, I didn’t think she would hear me._  

She turned back and saw Reyna facing her, one hand on her sword, her black eyes blazing with fury. She looked terrifying. Annabeth knew that if anyone else was in her place they would run the other way, because even she kind of wanted to, and Reyna was her best friend. _If she wants a fight, I’ll give her a fight._

“You heard me,” she said, planting her feet and crossing her arms. “You think you’re better than me because of all your _discipline_ ,” Annabeth almost spat the word. “You think because your room is perfectly clean, and because you go to the gym every day, you’re stronger than everyone. Well, there’s more than one way to be strong, even I know that.”

The anger in Reyna’s face turned to confusion. “What are you talking about? Your room is perfectly clean too. And you know I got to the gym because I love it.” She took a step forward. “Annabeth, what is this really about?”

Annabeth felt rooted to the spot. She’d been caught in a lie, one that she hadn’t even realized she’d been telling. _How does she do that? How can she always see right through me?_

Before she could say anything movement caught her eye just behind Reyna. A giant scorpion came charging out of the forest.

“Behind you!” Annabeth yelled and Reyna immediately whirled around to face the incoming monster.

Annabeth rushed forward and stood beside Reyna, about three feet to her right. Reyna had dropped down into a fighting stance. The monster was surveying them, biding its time, trying to see if it could simply get around or whether it would have to take them both out. It veered right and began trying to make a run for it.

Reyna seemed to start moving the second it did. She sprinted toward it, leaping into the air and drawing her sword. She let out an angry yell as she sliced off its stinger and then landed on the center of its back in one fluid movement. She shoved her sword straight down through its body. The scorpion turned to dust almost immediately.

“Show off,” Annabeth muttered as Reyna came strutting back to her.

“You have some serious jealousy issues,” Reyna said playfully. The tension from earlier had completely dissipated. _Thanks the gods for that. I can’t believe how stupid I was being. Why would I pick a fight with my best friend? I have to talk to her. I can’t keep acting like this._

A metallic rustling sound came from the trees. Annabeth wrinkled her nose. _Damn, I wish I was an archer._  

“Birds, incoming,” Annabeth called out. Reyna nodded grimly.

A few seconds later a swarm of at least 30 metal birds came pouring out of the forest. Reyna went down to one knee and put her shield over her head. Annabeth stepped closer to a large tree next to her, hoping it would give her adequate coverage. Neither of them made a move to attack and hoped the birds would ignore them. This was a good challenge for the newer kids further inland. The birds shot their metal feathers like arrows. They hurt, but they weren’t lethal. They were especially good practice for the archers.

They were still watching birds swoop over head when the sound of hoofs came from the trees. Ten horses came charging into the clearing. The lead horse reared up and brought his hooves down on Reyna’s shield, knocking her to the ground. Annabeth pulled her sword and began to run toward them. Reyna was already getting back to her feet, but it was clear she was a little dazed. The shield had kept the horse from hitting her, but it was still a serious blow she had just taken.

Annabeth swung her sword into the shoulder of one the horses, leaving a deep gash in it’s flesh. The horse screamed in pain and went down. _I hate it when they don’t look like monsters._  These horses had black eyes, and horrific black teeth, but otherwise they pretty much looked like any other horse. Annabeth felt a little guilty hurting them, but she knew that they didn’t feel the same about her, or any of the other demigods.

Reyna had stabbed the lead horse square in the chest. It turned to dust, but not before leaving a giant slick of oily blood on Reyna’s hands and forearms. The other horses had converged on Reyna, apparently out for revenge now. One managed to knock her sword of her hand. Annabeth rushed in and stabbed the one that was closest to Reyna’s discarded sword, hoping to help clear the way. That still left Reyna’s left side unguarded. Reyna jumped up and grabbed the mane of the horse to her left, swinging herself onto its back. It bucked angrily but she managed to stay on. She pulled out a dagger and sent into directly into the horse’s skull. It collapsed beneath her, turning to dust.

Annabeth finished off the horse she had wounded earlier. The other horses had apparently decided that these two were not worth the hassle and began to bolt. Annabeth chased after them, managing to slide beneath the last one and shove her sword into its belly. Blood rained down on her face and chest, but mercifully the horse turned to dust before any entrails fell on her.

“Ow! What the fuck!” Annabeth heard Reyna yell behind her. There were still two horses back there with her. They had her corralled between the two of them and Annabeth could see blood running down the back of Reyna’s neck even from this distance.

The horse in front lifted a hoof and slammed it down, aiming squarely for Reyna’s chest. She rolled away and the horse missed and stumbled, so it’s front legs were underneath it. Reyna recovered quicker than it could and swung her sword in an elegant deadly arc, taking off it’s head in one clean stroke. The other horse didn’t even try to stop her, instead it seemed to be trying to sneak up on Reyna. It came into close to her and Annabeth watched it take a bite out of Reyna’s shoulder.

Reyna let out a growl this time, clearly more angry than she was hurt. She turned around to face the horse and it bolted. Annabeth planted her feet and threw her dagger at it as it ran past her. The dagger found it’s mark right in the horse’s neck and it stumbled, tripping over itself in a panic. Annabeth ran over to where it had fallen and shoved her sword through it’s brain. It turned to dust and Annabeth retrieved her dagger.

She turned and saw Reyna walking toward her with a slight limp. “You should have let me kill that one.”

Annabeth shrugged, “You were too slow. Couldn’t let it get away.”

Reyna growled, “It bit me. Twice!”

Reyna was covered in blood. Her neck and shoulder were pouring blood from where the horse had expertly removed large patches of her skin. Her hands, arms, and torso were soaked in the blood of all of the horses she had managed to kill.

“Come on, I’ll take you to the infirmary.”

Reyna looked back towards the woods wistfully. Annabeth knew Reyna wanted to keep fighting, but she also knew that Reyna was losing a lot of blood and would only lose it faster if she kept exerting herself.

Finally Reyna sighed and nodded. “I hate flesh eating horses.”

Annabeth nodded, “They’re definitely one of the grosser things we have to deal with.”

Annabeth began to walk with Reyna towards the infirmary but Reyna gestured for her to stay. “Don’t worry about me, I can make it there myself.”

Annabeth wanted to go with her but she knew that they needed as many people as possible on the front line. She nodded sadly. “Ok, I’ll see you at lunch?”

Reyna nodded, “I’ll be there.”

 

"I hate those fucking metal birds," Piper muttered to herself as she sat down for lunch. She'd been hit with at least six feathers and bruises were forming on her shoulders and forearms. She even had a decent cut on her right cheek. _Thanks the gods for Frank._

Frank had started just shooting them down with his bow and arrow, but as the swarm of them kept getting bigger and bigger it was overwhelming their small fighting force, even with their six archers. Frank had taken matters into his own hands…or claws, by turning into a dragon and decimating the flock.

Piper saw Hazel walking toward her and noticed that Frank, who was sitting two tables away had tried to wave her over to an empty seat by him. Hazel hadn’t noticed. Piper felt bad for him, and she owed him for the birds so she motioned for him to come with them. He blushed and looked down, but he picked up his tray of food and shuffled over bashfully. Piper smiled to herself. _Gods, he is so cute._

“Hey, is it ok if I sit here?” Frank asked, gesturing to the seat by Hazel. Hazel looked up at him startled, she had remained oblivious to his presence in the dining hall.

“Oh! Of course it is!”

“You were amazing out there today,” Piper said sincerely. “Have you thought about moving up to the front line?”

Frank blushed again, as if embarrassed to be talking about himself. “Actually, Chiron just gave me permission to be on the front line from now on.”

“Congratulations!” Piper said with a big smile.

“That’s great!” Hazel added, although she sounded a little less sincere than Piper did.

Reyna set down her lunch and sat down by Piper. “Zhang, heard you got moved to the front line. You should be proud of yourself. It’s an honor that takes years for most kids to earn. You are a credit to your father. I’m sure Mars is very proud of you.”

Frank didn’t blush when Reyna praised him, in fact he actually sat up a little straighter, finally looking proud of himself. _How’d she do that?_  

Piper looked over and saw that Reyna had large bandages on her neck and shoulder. “What happened to you?”

Reyna made a face, “Flesh eating horses.”

Hazel paled a little, “You mean, they literally…peeled your skin off?”

Reyna nodded. Hazel dropped her fork and pushed away her blackened chicken. Piper laughed and took a bite of her veggie panini.   _I love being a vegetarian._   

“Are you going to tell your pen-pal about all that,” Hazel asked gesturing to Reyna’s bandages.

“Too late, I already wrote my letter to him.”

Hazel lifted an eyebrow, “Oh really? Too excited to wait?”

Reyna shrugged. “He’s a good friend and we have a lot to talk through.”

Hazel seemed a little miffed that her teasing wasn’t working at all.

“I don’t get you Reyna. He’s gorgeous, he’s a son of Jupiter, and he was all over you the other day. Why don’t you like him?”

Piper saw Annabeth approaching their table. She was in hearing range and Piper knew that Reyna could see her too. Reyna was always aware of her surroundings.

Reyna looked up, holding her gaze in a way that made it clear she was still talking to Hazel, but looking towards Annabeth.

“He’s not my type. I’m gay.”

Hazel blinked hard and then widened her eyes. She fanned her face a little and averted her gaze. “Sorry. Sorry. This means nothing, I was just born in the 40s, so I’ve never heard anyone say that before.” She composed herself and managed to look back over at Reyna. “I’m sorry I kept teasing you about him, I’m sure that was uncomfortable for you.”

Reyna smiled at her, “That’s really thoughtful of you. Don’t worry about it, I knew it was all in good fun.”

Reyna glanced over at Annabeth who hadn’t moved since Reyna had made her confession. She was just four feet from the table, frozen.

“Are you going to eat standing up?” she asked.

Annabeth dropped her gaze, muttered something incomprehensible, and began power walking away, still gripping her lunch.

Piper looked over at Reyna to see if she needed reassuring, but there was no trace of hurt or fear I her eyes. Just confidence, and maybe a little bit of mischief.

“You did that on purpose,” Piper realized.

Reyna nodded. “Romans know the best defense, is offense. Always attack first.”

Piper rolled her eyes, “I should have known you’d take the whole love and war thing way too literally.”

Reyna laughed. Frank had a thoughtful look on his face. Piper smiled at him, in encouragement.  _Maybe Reyna should be the one giving out love advice. Frank really needs to figure out his defense if he's going to get Hazel to notice him._

 

Jason returned to his cell exhausted. His shoulders and hand ached from leaning over books and writing endless notes. His vision was swimming a little from exertion. He put his stack of notes carefully under his pillow before he flopped down on his bunk in exhaustion.

Leo strolled into their cell, smelling vaguely like smoke. “There you are! Where were you all day?”

“Making plans,” Jason replied.

Leo’s eyes widened. “Like an escape plan? I know tunneling out is a classic, but I don’t think it’s our best bet. I was thinking I could set a fire as a diversion, and while everyone is freaking out about that, you fly us out of here with your wind powers.”

Jason sat up and gave him an incredulous look. “What?”

“Hey, come on man, think about it! The warden said you can control the winds-”

“No. No, not an escape plan,” Jason cut him off. “Escaping wouldn’t get us anywhere. They’d track us down eventually and we’d be back in here for way longer. No, I’m coming up with plans to get us out of here for real. All of us.”

Leo’s fingers caught fire and Jason assumed that meant he was excited. “Like what?”

“I’m going to file a lawsuit against the gods.”

Jason could see Leo’s shoulders slump. “Oh really? Are you going to send strongly worded letters to some fairies too?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Fine, be that way, but I’m not kidding. I have an idea and I think it could work. I’m going to run it by Chiron on Tuesday.”

Leo flopped back on to his bunk. “Well, if you actually get us out of here, I’ll apologize. Until then, I’m gonna call you a nerd. I’m still going to call you a nerd if this works too. You’re a nerd Jason.”

Jason laughed, “You’re not the first person to tell me that.”

He stretched out, flexing his arms as he did. It caught Leo’s eyes, just like he expected it would. “I’m sure the ladies really prefer bad boys like you over,” this time he blatantly flexed, “nerds like me”

Leo flicked his fingers toward him and a shower of sparks rained onto Jason. Jason quickly began patting them out as he laughed.

“You’re not the only hot one pretty boy. Now stop flexing and tell me about this plan of yours.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like it's important that I point out in this AU there is no ambrosia or nectar to heal the demigods. When they get injured, they have to heal like normal people. AKA they're all even more bad ass than in the books.


	7. Hate at First Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico isn't impressed with Jason's plan  
> Percy fights a girl   
> Leo gets a letter and starts a fire  
> Annabeth and Reyna make out in a prison parking lot

Percy knew Nico wasn’t a morning person, but he hadn’t expected him to demolish Jason before breakfast was even over.

At breakfast Percy was all smiles and bad jokes. Normally, at least Leo would laugh but he was busy reading and rereading a letter the Stoll’s had delivered to him when he sat down at the table.

“So, you’re going to talk to Chiron about your plan today, right?” Percy asked Jason. Jason was finally starting to look almost normal. His black eyes had faded enough that he just looked like he hadn’t slept well for a couple of days. The bruise on his neck was still pretty ugly but it was much smaller than it had been and it’s darkest point was now only the color of grape juice, instead of the horrific blue-black it had been for a while. Percy eyed the bruise with only thinly veiled pride. _I can really throw a punch!_

Jason nodded, and put his hand over his chest in a reflexive gesture. Percy could see the outline of all the papers Jason had tucked in there. He had been really paranoid about all of his notes for the past few days, not letting anyone look at them, and refusing to leave them anywhere. He kept them on his person at all times.

Nico had scoffed. “It’s not going to work. I’ve met your father. He tried to kill me. I was nine.”

Jason shifted uncomfortably, looking down, not willing to meet Nico’s gaze. “You’re definitely right that he is a horrible person…Or at least he would be if he was a person….Not the point. Most of the gods are pretty terrible when you judge them by human morality standards. Like, honestly it’s terrifying some of that shit they did to people, and each other. But again, that’s not the point. They’re like…archetypes, you know? So even though their erratic and selfish and vindictive and whatever else you can think of, they’re also bound to their archetype. So Jupiter is bound to being the god of justice. It’s a facet of himself that he can’t escape or ignore. As the concept of justice has changed and become more complex and fair, so has that facet of him. It has to, because that archetypal part of him is bound to the human concept of the meaning of the term--”

Percy cut him off, “Jason, no one cares. Dumb it down and sum it up.”

Jason let out a frustrated breath, “Right, sorry. I’m nervous about pitching my idea to Chiron,” he cut his eyes to Nico, “and I’m a little defensive about all this.” He lifted his hands and gestured as he spoke again. “Long story short, Jupiter might be an asshole but he _has_ to be fair in a court room setting. It comes with the territory of being a god. I have a strong case that refutes the existing claim that putting demi-gods away is safer for people, and for themselves, and that the current system is inherently challenging that logic along with being unfair. It’s a really simple case with a basically flawless premise. As long as we can get the gods to listen, we can’t lose.”

Nico was still giving Jason an ominous look that was making Jason squirm. Percy put his arm around Nico’s shoulder. Although the gesture could easily look platonic and casual from a bystander point of view, Percy really was doing it to comfort Nico. Nico had told Percy the whole story about his encounter with Zeus. He told him about the years he had to spend in hiding with his sister, battling monsters constantly, shadow traveling almost nonstop. They’d ended up in an endless maze, full of traps and horrible things that even Nico didn’t want to remember. Their father, Hades, had tried to help as much as he could. He taught them both how to use their powers. He gave them cloaks of darkness to wear and taught them how to get the dead to do their bidding. Still, Zeus persisted. They finally lost him in the maze, managing to go an entire month without dodging random lightning bolts or having their sheltered razed by winds. They stayed down there for a few months, hoping to buy themselves time and to finally rest. They had emerged to a different world.

The seven months they spent in what they later found out was Daedalus’s labyrinth had actually been decades. Nico had emerged from the labyrinth, ten years old, and almost 60 years in the future. Hades had told them they would be safe now in this new world. That things were different. Bianca had refused. This was the final straw for her. She was broken by the years of being on the run, the death that was constantly chasing her. When she emerged to a changed world she said it was like everything she had been fighting to stay alive for had died without her. Nico didn’t have the heart to ask her why he wasn’t also on that list.

Bianca refused Hades’ offer of a normal life. She told him she wanted to be somewhere beautiful and safe. Somewhere unchanging, eternal. He sent her to Circe’s island. Nico had believed his father though. He desperately wanted the chance to live a normal life, so he believed him. Hades had failed to mention, that Nico would end up going to jail at eleven years old. 

Percy felt Nico tense a little when he put his arm around him. He discretely squeezed Nico’s shoulder in a gesture he hoped was reassuring.

Nico glared at Jason, “Your father ruined my life because according to him children of the Big Three were too dangerous to be allowed to stay alive. But then you come along and all of a sudden the rules are different. You got to go to high school. You got to play football, and to go to the movies, and go fucking trick-or-treating. You know what I got to do Jason?”

Jason had the decency to look Nico in the eyes when he said no.

“I got to see my mother killed. I got to spend my childhood living in abandoned buildings, fighting monsters and summoning dead people just to stay alive. I lived in the dark, underground, in a labyrinth that fucking talked to me and tried break me at every turn, eating rats and drinking scummy water. Then, I got out, and everything I knew, and everyone I loved was dead. And then, just because I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I got sent to prison. _That’s_ who your father is. That’s what he did to me.” Nico paused, eyes locked with Jason’s, his expression filled with more than anger. Hatred was written all across his face. “Does that sound fair to you?”

Before he had a chance to respond Nico got up and began to walk away. Jason was stunned, staring after Nico’s retreating figure. Percy got up and went after him.

He caught up to him in the hallway. “Nico! Wait up!”

Nico’s fist were clenched at his sides. Percy could tell he was fuming. Percy understood, he’d felt like that plenty of times.

“You should have fought him. You definitely would have won,” Percy said casually as he fell in step with him.

Nico flipped his black hair out of his eyes and looked up at Percy for a moment, probably to test the sincerity of Percy’s comment. When he saw Percy’s expression he let out a loud breath and Percy could see his shoulder drops and his hands unclench.

“It wouldn’t have been worth it. It’s not his fault,”

Percy shrugged, “Still might have felt good.”

Nico laughed and Percy felt a surge of pride when he heard it. He desperately wanted to slide his hand into Nico’s but they were out in the open and he wasn’t sure how Nico would feel about a public display of affection. He settled for resting a hand on his shoulder again for a few seconds. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it was something. Whenever he was with Nico, Percy wanted to be touching him. He was almost desperate for physical contact with him. Not even necessarily in a sexual way, although he’d definitely thought of that too. He just wanted to feel him there with him, to be connected to him, to have a definite reminder that they were both real and together.

Nico was the first person Percy had ever really felt close to. He knew all of Percy’s secrets, secrets that Percy had been planning on taking to his grave. Nico had told him his own secrets and Percy regretted ever feeling sorry for himself. Nico’s life had been beyond brutal. The fact that he had survived any of the things he’d gone through, let alone all of them and so young made Percy’s head spin. Somehow, even after all of that, Nico had remained thoughtful. He remained fun. He wasn’t bitter and angry and never felt the need to prove himself to anyone. Percy wished he could be more like that. Percy wished he didn’t have to constantly have everyone see him as the strongest and best in the room. Nico didn’t care if anyone even knew he was in a room, but Percy knew, he was not someone that should be messed with. Percy would never admit it, but even he wasn’t sure if he could take Nico in a fight. _It would probably depend on how close I was to a body of water and how many dead people were around._

“So, are you going to come with me to talk to the half-way house people today?” he asked hoping he sounded casual. He really wanted Nico to go with him. _Ok maybe I haven’t told him all of my secrets. I don’t like being alone._

Nico glanced up at Percy again, “You really don’t like being alone do you?”

 _Fuck._ “Do you have to wound my pride like that all the time?”

Nico gave him a little smile. “For a tough guy you have a really fragile ego.”

Percy winced, “Again with the insults.”

Nico hooked his index finger around Percy’s index finger in a slightly timid gesture. “I meant it as an observation, not an insult. Sorry.”

Percy felt himself blush. _What the fuck is wrong with me?_ He looked away and literally willed the blood out of his face. “You never answered my question,” Percy replied, gaze still averted.

Nico sighed, “I’ll go, but only because you want me to.” He looked up, locking eyes with Percy, clearly trying to give his next words the appropriate amount of gravity. “Don’t get your hopes up Percy, those people don’t really care about us.”

 

Leo had never been particularly interested in school, but if he had known that he wouldn’t be able to read perhaps the most important letter he would ever receive, he definitely would have tried harder in school

Almost the second he sat down to breakfast he knew something was up. The Stoll brothers were giving him a look that made him nervous.

“Leo, today’s your lucky day,” Travis had said with an almost sinister smirk that definitely didn’t make Leo feel particularly lucky.

Connor cut his eyes back and forth as if scanning the area to make sure no one was watching. Leo had a feeling that was more to build suspense than for anything else. The Stoll’s wouldn’t care if there were three guards standing right behind them, they knew how to not get caught.

Leo felt his heart begin to race as Connor reached into his jumpsuit and pulled out a crisp white envelope. He discreetly slid is across the table to Leo.

“Your letter,” he said with an almost reverent tone.

Leo reached for it and Connor jerked it just out his reach suddenly. Leo jerked his head up to look at him, shocked and a little angry.

“Don’t forget, we have a deal. I give you this letter, you torch the warden’s desk. No excuses.”

Leo knew he should say no. He knew he should just let them take the letter away and move on with his life before he got into trouble…but it was too late. He’d seen it. He’d been dreaming of it for days. Now it was there, right in front of him, and every fiber of his being was dying to know what it said.

Before he could say anything Nico scoffed. “Don’t be stupid. It’s probably not even from her, their just manipulating you.”

 _I can’t believe I didn’t think of that._  

Connor shot Nico a death stare. Nico didn’t so much as flinch, in fact it looked like he might have smiled just a little at this apparent challenge. Nico had been hanging out with them ever since Percy got out of solitary. The two of them were pretty tight lipped about how they’d gotten to know each other but it was clear they were a package deal now. For the most part Nico didn’t say much. He just watched, his expression unreadable most of the time. His black hair fell into his face and partially covered his eyes, a lot like the Stoll’s except the effect was very different on him. The Stoll’s looked young and playful, harmless and silly, until their demeanor changed. Nico didn’t seem like any of those things. He was Leo’s age, 15, but Nico seemed much older. His hair was thick and black and shone like he was in a shampoo commercial. It was a little shaggy, coming just below his eyebrows, and hanging down just a little in the back. Yet he didn’t look unkempt at all. Just…off putting. Wild. His skin was unbelievably pale, and that was only accentuated by the bright orange jumpsuit he was forced to wear. It looked so unnatural on him. Leo found himself picturing Nico wearing black whenever he thought of him, even though, obviously, he’d only ever seen him in the jumpsuit.

Nico was nothing like Percy. No one knew who he was. No one knew what had gotten him sent here. He just seemed like a slightly unnerving kid to Leo, but now, seeing the way he reacted to the Stoll brothers Leo realized he was much more than that. Nico may not always be contributing but it was clear he was always listening, and that he was thinking much more straight than Leo had been. _I have a feeling he wouldn’t back down from a fight either._   _I wonder if he has any cool powers. Maybe he’s a vampire, did the Greeks have vampires? I wonder if he sparkles._  

“Leo,” Travis’s sharp voice cut into his thoughts.

“Uh, sorry I got distracted, what?”

“I said, this letter is the real deal. I swear of the River Styx, Piper wrote this herself,” Travis was looking at Nico as he said that. Leo glanced over and Nico gave him a begrudging shrug.

“If she’s really worth the extra time to you,” Nico replied which Leo took as his blessing.

“You’ve got a deal,” Leo told Travis.

Connor flicked his wrist and sent the envelope sliding towards Leo like an air hockey puck.

Leo snatched it off the table and immediately ripped it open. He was so excited he had to keep repeating in his mind _Don’t catch fire. Don’t catch fire. Don’t catch fire._ to make sure he didn’t accidentally incinerate the letter before he got a chance to read it.

Leo’s dyslexia was pretty bad. If it wasn’t a blueprint he had a pretty hard time reading things. He looked over it once and caught less than a third of what it said. It didn’t help that he was too excited to fully concentrate on making sense of all the words.

 _Focus Leo! Be patient._ He tried again, this time really concentrating. He picked up maybe half of the words this time.

 _Ok, I’m almost there. I can do this. One more time._  The letter was a full two pages long. Probably not long for most people but for someone with severe dyslexia and almost no attention span, it felt like reading War and Peace.

Leo was just about to attempt his third read through when a change in the atmosphere of the table forced him to look up. He had tuned in just in time to hear Nico tell his life story, with a quiet intensity that gave Leo chills.

Leo was sitting next to Jason and as he watched Nico walk away her turned to see Jason’s expression. He looked completely shell shocked. He was completely frozen, seemingly unable to move. Nico and Percy had both completely exited the cafeteria and their table remained silent.

Leo finally broke the silence, “Damn, you’re really lucky he didn’t fight you. I kinda want to fight you and your dad didn’t even try to kill me.”

The Stoll’s nodded in agreement. “Same,” they said in unison.

Jason sighed and slumped a little, his hand protectively covering the papers tucked into his jumpsuit.

“This has to work. I have to fix all this.”

Leo nodded, but he was pretty over the whole exchange already. His mind was on other things. “Hey, you’re good at reading. Could you read this to me?”

He slid his letter toward Jason. Jason looked a little surprised but he nodded and reached for the letter. Leo didn’t take his hand off of it. He looked pointedly at the Stoll brothers.

“You guys mind?” he asked.

There was a brief pause. Travis appeared to be thinking and Connor was clearly just waiting for his older brother’s decision.

Travis nodded, “Fine, we’ll give you your moment, but meet us in the yard twenty minutes before Chiron’s people come. You still owe us.”

They stood up to leave and Connor pulled another envelope from inside his jumpsuit. “There’s one for you too pretty boy.”

Jason looked relieved as he took the letter. 

“What’s got you all excited?” Leo asked, glancing suspiciously at Jason’s letter.

Jason gave him a small smile, “I only have one friend who isn’t constantly making me feel guilty about my fathers.”

Leo winced, “Sorry. I’ll work on that.”

Jason shrugged, “Haters gonna hate.”

Leo laughed. “Gods, you are _so_ bad at being cool. Come on nerd, make yourself useful and tell me what this says.”

He finally released the letter and held his breath.

 

Annabeth knew she was a little on edge, but she wasn’t expecting to pick a fight with two Big Three demigods.

She was still reeling from Reyna’s unexpected announcement. She probably should have felt better, after all it meant she wasn’t actually into Jason, but Annabeth didn’t feel any better, or any saner for that matter.

In fact she felt hurt. She knew that was selfish, but she couldn’t help it. _She’s supposed to be my best friend. How could she have not told me?_  

Annabeth wasn’t stupid. Even with all of her feelings swirling she was able to do some digging. She realized that Piper already knew. _I didn’t think Reyna even liked Piper!_

Reyna had tried to talk to her a couple times in the past few days but Annabeth wasn’t ready. She was too upset and she knew it looked bad. She knew it looked like she was judging her, like she was a bigot but she just couldn’t face her. She felt too betrayed. _I’ve told her everything! Every secret I’ve ever had she knows. How could she have kept this for me? How long has she known? Why didn’t she tell me? Who else knows?_

 Annabeth was grateful to be back at Half-Blood Correctional Facility today. It was nice to be in a place where she had a script. To be on neutral ground, where she knew where Reyna was and didn’t run the risk of running into her unexpectedly. To have some guaranteed time without having to worry about finally confronting Reyna. She had no idea what that inevitable confrontation was going to be like, but she knew she wasn’t ready. She knew…that she was afraid. Afraid because this announcement had changed things between them and Annabeth desperately didn’t want things to be changed.

She had finally realized that had really been what was upsetting her with the Jason situation too. The past week had changed things between them. Not because Reyna was gay, that didn’t matter. But because Reyna had other close friends. Reyna had secrets. Annabeth had tried really hard not to think about it for years, but she knew that they were both going to age out of Half-Blood House soon. They were going to be eighteen in just a couple of years. They would both graduate and go to college. Annabeth had tried not to think about it but she knew the truth. Reyna would have her own life then. She would go off to live her own life and Annabeth had no idea if she would be a part of it. She wanted to be. She didn’t want to imagine a life without Reyna. In fact she’d never imagined a life without her.

When they were young Annabeth would picture the two of them going off to college together. Sharing an apartment, going grocery shopping, studying in their living room. She pictured them moving to a city together after graduation. She even pictured them together with their kids, telling stories about all the battles they’d fought together, teaching them sword play…She’d never really been able to imagine who they’d marry. That detail had always been blurry and unnecessary. What Annabeth had wanted to imagine was a future with Reyna. She’d assumed they’d both get married and have families because that’s just what people did. Why waste time picturing something inevitable?

Annabeth fidgeted with the paperwork in front of her. That excuse was sounding pretty flimsy even to her. She knew something was coming. She knew that something was right there in front of her just waiting for her to face it…but she couldn’t. _I don’t want to change. I don’t want things to change. I want everything to be the way I thought they were._  

Annabeth forced her hands off the table and watched as the boys began to file into the room. _Focus. Time to think about someone else besides yourself for a while._  

Annabeth noticed two new guys and immediately waved them to her table. Annabeth considered herself an ambassador for Chiron’s program. She took pride in the years she’d spent there and all of the good work she’d managed to do. She knew everything there was to know about the process of getting into the program, what is was like once you were there, and literally any other questions newbies might have. She was the perfect introduction to the program. She loved getting a chance to interact with new kids and give them hope.

She sized the two up as they came over to her table. They both had slightly shaggy black hair but the similarities ended there. The one in the lead was tall with strong cheekbones and a strong jawline, like he was chiseled out of marble. He looked sun-kissed-an adjective Annabeth had never really felt the need to use before. He looked like a surfer, but there was nothing laid back about him. He carried himself with a visible arrogance that irked Annabeth immediately. _Great. A tough guy._  

The kid with him looked a little younger. He was shorter, only coming up to the first guy’s shoulder. His hair was so black it looked dyed, but Annabeth had a feeling that hair dye wasn’t available in juvie so it must have been natural. He was deathly pale and pretty skinny. The guy he was with was all swagger, but this kid was all ice. No emotion was on his face. There was nothing noticeable about the way he walked. He didn’t turn around and try to take stock of things going on around him. In fact, if he hadn’t been with the big guy Annabeth wasn’t sure she would have noticed him at all.

They sat down across from her. The small one seemed to simply melt into his chair his movements were so subtle and fluid. The tough guy flipped his chair around and straddled it, looking at Annabeth from over the chair’s back. She wanted to roll her eyes but managed to refrain.

“Hi, I’m Annabeth, daughter of Athena. I don’t think I’ve seen either of you before, are you new?”

The arrogant one nodded, “It’s my second week here.”

Annabeth paused, waiting for him to introduce himself, or for the other kid to say something but it appeared that nothing else was coming.

“I’m glad to hear that the warden is being more timely with informing people! Some people have to wait weeks before he explains things to him.”

This earned her an arrogant grin, “Let’s just say I made an impression.” He held out his hand, “I’m Percy. Son of Poseidon.”

Annabeth was a little startled by this information. _I knew about Jason but there are more Big Three kids?_  

“It’s nice to meet you Percy,” she said as casually as she could as she shook his hand. She looked over at the other kid who had remained silent and motionless. “And you are?”

“Nico,” the other kid replied curtly.

“How long have you been here Nico?” she asked hoping to sound sweet. Sweet wasn’t really her thing, but she knew how hard it was for new kids. Usually they were all questions, but she wasn’t going to let one stubborn emo kid throw her off her game.

“19 months,” he replied in the same no nonsense tone.

Annabeth was startled again. That was a long wait, even with the incompetent warden in charge.

“Did the warden just now tell you about your godly parent?” she asked.

“No,” he replied shortly.

“Oh…well is this your first time meeting with the Half-Blood House program volunteers?”

“Yes.”

Annabeth was beginning to get frustrated. _What is his problem?_

“Would you mind telling me your godly parent? I might be able to point out your siblings, or have some at Chiron’s Place write to you.”

The kid scowled at her, the first emotion she’d seen on his face. _So he’s not a fan of whoever his godly parent is. Who’s the most emo god? Thanatos? Hecate? Achlys?_  

“Hades,” he answered begrudgingly and this time Annabeth couldn’t help but take a startled breath. _Two Big Three demigods? How is this possible?_

“Uh, I’m just going to call over Chiron so he can talk to you himself,” she began but Percy cut her off.

“Too star-struck to explain things yourself? Or are you just afraid to be the one to admit you can’t do anything for us because we’re a part of the ‘Big Three’.” He exaggerated the words Big Three, the way one would when telling a dumb ghost story, clearly mocking her.

Annabeth felt herself get angry. _Chiron can wait._ “I see someone’s already explained things to you,” she said tersely. “In that case I’m assuming you’ve heard all about our program too.”

Percy nodded, “I’ve heard, and I can tell that it’s all a load of shit.”

Annabeth felt her hands clench into fists beneath the table. “And what makes you say that?”

Percy gestured to all the kids in the room. “Look around you. How many kids are still in here? Let alone all the kids in juvies that aren’t this one. I’ve been fighting monsters for as long as I can remember. Do you know what that’s like? To spend every day fighting things that no one else can see? To spend your whole life thinking you’re insane and then one day to find out that it’s been real this whole time but no one has given a single fuck that you’re fighting for your life all the time?”

He paused and Annabeth began to say something but he cut her off the seonc she opened her mouth. “No, you don’t. You got to go to some fucking half-blood charm school or some shit. Meanwhile I’ve been in jail since I was 13 years old.”

He picked up one of Annabeth’s brochures and waved it in her face. “This is fucking bullshit.”

Annabeth felt herself snap. All of the feelings she’d been fighting for the past week finally let loose on this one kid who was stupid enough to push her.

“So why are you here then? To bitch about how hard your life has been? Newsflash kid, every demigod’s life is hard. I’ve been fighting monsters my whole life too. Everyone in this room has. That’s the whole point of Chiron’s program, to give kids like us a chance. A chance to have friends and live in a safe place and to have a _life_.”

Percy just rolled his eyes, “Easy for you to say.”

Annabeth slammed her palms down on the table. She noticed the room go silent as everyone turned to see what was going on. “What the fuck is your problem? Do you think you’re the only person who has problems? My parents kicked me out of their house when I was nine. I had to _walk_ three states to get to Chiron’s place. When I was 13 a bunch of Titans tried to take over the fucking world. Not that you would know that. I spent almost a year fighting for a bunch of ungrateful people who didn’t even know they were in danger. My best friends died. I saw them. _I saw them all die_ ,” she didn’t even realize she had raised her voice until she felt Chiron’s hand on her shoulder.

“Annabeth, why don’t you let me take over from here?” he said gently.

Percy’s expression hadn’t changed. That same self-satisfied smirk was still on his face.

“Well, maybe if I hadn’t been abandoned to rot in jail they wouldn’t have,” he said.

Annabeth didn’t even think. She lunged across the table, tackling him off his chair. She had the element of surprise and managed to shove her elbow hard into his stomach as they rolled together on the floor.

She heard the breath leave his body, but he managed to flip her onto her back and pin her down, his legs on either side of her hips. She pulled her feet up to her butt and bucked her hips suddenly, rolling through the motion and flipping him off of her.

The son of Hades who was with him stepped in front of Percy before he could recover. In the same instant Annabeth felt herself being grabbed beneath the arms and locked in place by strong arms. She tried to thrash her way out but the person didn’t so much as budge. “Annabeth. Calm down. It’s ok. Let it go.” A quiet reassuring voice said into her ear. She felt a surge of willpower surge through her and she finally regained her wits. _Reyna_. She thought her name with such relief it was like a mental sigh. She wanted nothing more than to relax into Reyna’s chest that was right behind her, to turn around and wrap her arms around her neck and forget about everything. But she couldn’t.

She finally was able to access what was going on. A circle of demigods, male and female was surrounding her. Nico had helped Percy up and she noticed that he remained standing between the two of them as a buffer.

The door to the library suddenly opened and Annabeth saw the warden burst in, looking furious. Also his pants looked a little singed which was strange.

“Chiron!” he yelled. “What the fuck is going on in here?”

Annabeth felt like she’d just swallowed a bunch of concrete. _What have I done?_

To her surprise, Piper stepped forward.

“Warden! I’m so glad you’re here! One of our volunteers fainted. Thankfully, one of your boys was able to catch her before she hit her head on anything.”

The warden looked over at the crowd of demigods suspiciously. His expression had softened, apparently Piper’s charmspeak had worked at least a little.

Piper looked over at Percy, “Thank you so much for saving Annabeth! What’s your name?” she asked, appropriate awe and gratitude in her tone, but her expression made it clear that she was begging Percy to play along.

He didn’t skip a beat, just giving that self-satisfied grin to the warden, “Percy Jackson. Isn’t that right warden?”

Annabeth wanted to fight him again. She felt Reyna tighten her grip on her as if reading her mind. “Warden, I’m going to take Annabeth out to the bus to eat something,” she said matter-of-factly.

The warden glared at them but nodded, “I see. Try some wine. That always helps.”

Reyna nodded, managing to bow slightly, without releasing the submission hold she still had Annabeth in. “Yes Lord Bacchus. Thank you.”

 

Leo had to talk to Piper. He had so much to tell her…including that she should write much shorter letters.

Yet, here he was, twenty minutes before the volunteers were supposed to arrive risking his chance to talk to her by meeting with the Stoll brothers. _Is Hephaestus also the god of not thinking things through; because that pretty much sums up my whole life._

“Leo, our man,” Travis greeted him with a sleazy smile that made Leo want to run the other way.

Jason was convinced that the Stoll’s were good people but Leo wasn’t so sure. They made him nervous. They seemed to know everything about everyone somehow but no one knew very much about them.

“This is gonna be so great!” Connor said with a smile, clapping Leo on the back and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. The gesture felt more menacing than friendly to Leo.

“So, are we gonna do this or what?” Leo asked. He was anxious to get this over with. Also, he was hoping to have time to make sure his hair looked ok before he saw Piper.

“That’s the spirit!” Connor said, squeezing him.

Travis smiled, “We just have to make a few quick stops first.”

Leo must have looked alarmed because he quickly added, “Don’t worry lover boy. You aren’t going to miss your date.”

Leo sighed, “Ok, where to?”

Turns out the first stop was the shop. It seemed like they just kind of wandered around for a few minutes but once they were out Travis proudly pulled out an electric drill. Leo had been with them both the whole time and never saw either of them get within ten feet of the wall with all the tools. He couldn’t help but be impressed…and even more suspicious.

The next stop was the kitchens. The Stoll’s gave some kid an envelope of some sort and he handed them a pickle jar of some sort of liquid.

“What is that?” Leo asked staring at the sickly looking orangeish liquid.

Connor smiled, “Pruno.”

Leo gave him a blank look. “Jail wine,” he explained. “It’s pretty rudimentary stuff, but the sons of Dionysus make it much better than the average inmate. It’s actually pretty good.”

“More importantly,” Travis continued, “the warden loves it. His sons have to work pretty hard to keep him from drinking it all. You know has Spiderman has spidey senses? Well the warden has a wine sense.”

Leo finally began to figure out what was going on, “You’re going to get him to leave his office with this.”

They both beamed. “Smart right?”

Leo couldn’t help but laugh, “Very. So where are we going to put it?”

“As far away from his office as we can.”

“Aren’t you worried he won’t pick up on it?”

Travis smiled. “Which brings us to our last stop.”

The last stop was a janitors closet. The Stolls apparently used this one for their own personal stash. Leo wasn’t allowed to look in, but he heard them moving way more things than any janitor’s closet should have in it. At one point a wad of cash flew out of the door and Connor quickly popped out and retrieved it, winking at Leo as he did.

Finally they emerged with a small spray bottle that was now filled with the orange liquid from the giant pickle jar.

“Time to split up,” Travis said.

Connor took the jar of wine and the spray bottle and gave them a mock salute. “Don’t forget to set up the camera!” he told his brother.

“You know I won’t.”

Connor began to walk away, spraying the wine on walls as he walked away.

Travis turned to Leo, “You ready?”

The two of them began walking in the opposite direction of Connor, towards the warden’s office.

Being with Travis without Connnor felt bizzare. Leo suddenly felt awkward as the two of them walked in silence.

“So, uh, it must be nice having your brother here with you.”

Travis shrugged, “Kinda.”

There was an awkward silence before Travis continued. “I wish he wasn’t here.”

Leo was shocked. “But, you guys are so close. Don’t you like having him here?”

Travis turned stopped and motioned for Leo to do the same. They were almost at the Warden’s office and could see his door from the corner Travis had stopped them behind.

He looked Leo in the eyes and Leo could see the sorrow on his face that was both startling and clearly very honest. “I’d rather have him on the outside, living a real life, instead of stuck here with me. He shouldn’t be here. I tried to take the fall for both of us,” he shrugged then, turning away and looking at the warden’s door.

“What did you do? To get in here I mean?” Leo asked, unable to resist.

Travis glanced over at him, apparently debating what to say. He made eye contact with Leo again and Leo could tell he was being honest when he said, “Nothing.”

Before Leo could say anything else the warden’s door opened suddenly. He had a rapturous look on his face. He took a deep breath and began to speed walk in the opposite direction.

Travis flashed Leo a big smile, “I told you. Wine sense. Come on.”

They crept into the warden’s office. Travis made Leo stop in the doorway. Then he dropped to the floor and crawled on his stomach to a filing cabinet in the corner. He deftly climbed on top of it and then pulled a black handkerchief out of his jumpsuit. He easily tied it around the security camera that Leo hadn’t even noticed. Leo had a feeling that if the warden checked the footage there would be no trace of Travis on it.

With that taken care of Travis motioned for Leo to come in. He shut the door and went to the desk. Without any hesitation Travis began drilling holes in the top of the warden’s desk. It seemed so loud, Leo’s heart was racing, just waiting for the warden to burst back in the door but no one came.

Once Travis had drilled four holes in three places on the desk he pulled open the top three drawers. They were full of crumpled papers, food wrappers, abused brochures, and who knows what else.

Travis smiled at him, “Kindling!” he said proudly, gesturing to all the paper spilling out of the drawers.

Again, things finally clicked with Leo. Travis had just drilled air holes into the desk, to keep the fire from snuffing out when they closed the drawers. _This kid is really smart._  

“Ok, this part is all you.”

Leo obliged and easily set the papers on fire in each drawer. Travis closed them all and then stood by to make sure the flames didn’t go out. Smoke began to pour out of the holes and Travis looked satisfied with his work. He opened the lowers drawers which where larger and had Leo torch those too, but with a much smaller blaze. It would turn into a decent sized fire in no time.

“Ok, let’s get out of here. Oh! Almost forgot,” Travis stood up on the desk, retrieved a decent sized hammer from his jumpsuit and easily destroyed the fire sprinkler on the ceiling.

Leo looked at him stunned, “Where do you hide all that stuff?”

Travis smiled, “A magician never tells his secrets. Now come on, you don’t want to miss your date.”

“You know, you really didn’t need me to start the fire,” Leo commented as they speed walked to the library. “You could have easily done all of that with just a lighter.”

Travis shrugged, “I wanted to see your fire powers myself.”

Leo felt incredibly stupid. “This whole thing was just a test?” he asked incredulously.

Travis smiled, “Yup! And you passed with flying colors!” He put his arm around Leo’s shoulders. “We’re going to do great things kid.”

 

Percy was furious. Something about that blonde girl had upset him the second he saw her sizing him up and giving him a look like she’d just sucked on a lemon. _How dare she think she’s better than me?_

He’d been excited about meeting the Half-Blood House volunteers. He wanted to get into their program more than anything. He really didn’t give a shit what it was or who ran it or anything. He just wanted a chance to get out. To see what is was like to not sleep behind locked doors. To not be surrounded by giant fences all the time. Maybe even to go swimming. But all of that excitement had left the second he felt Annabeth judging him. He knew it was ridiculous but he just couldn’t sit there and let her act all high and mighty with her stupid brochures and fake ass introductions.

Chiron and Piper had managed to convince the warden to leave and get everyone back to their seats. Now Percy was sitting across from him, still angry.

Chiron gave him a gentle smile. “So Percy, do you want to tell me what happened?”

Percy scowled at him, “Have you ever considered getting volunteers that don’t have a superiority complex?” he snapped.

Chiron gave him a long look. Percy didn’t back down, meeting his eyes defiantly. He saw a flash of shock, then understanding on Chiron’s face. “A son of Poseidon. Well, that certainly explains a lot.”

Now it was Percy’s turn to be shocked. “How’d you know that?”

Chiron smiled, “I’ve known many demigods in my life and only children of Poseidon have eyes like that.” He chucked a little. “Did you know that Poseidon and Athena are arch rivals? They can’t stand each other. It’s no wonder you and Annabeth got off to a bad start.”

Chiron turned his attention to Nico. He studied him again, but he clearly wasn’t seeing what he was looking for.

Nico surprised Percy by saying, “Hades.”

Chiron looked even more shocked than before. “Of course. I have known much fewer children of Hades. What year were you born?”

Nico’s eyes widened a little at the question, “1924,” he admitted.

Chiron nodded knowingly and Percy felt his rage melt away and turn into fascination.

 

“You can let go now!” Annabeth snapped at Reyna, who had simply lifted Annabeth, still in the submission hold, and carried her out of the library.

“Are you sure? You’ve been acting ridiculous lately, how do I know you won’t do something even more stupid if I let go?”

Annabeth knew she deserved that comment but it only made her angrier. “Put. Me. Down.”

Reyna listened this time and let Annabeth go. Annabeth began to angrily power walk to the bus.

Reyna easily caught up to her. “Shouldn’t you be in there with your best friend Jason,” Annabeth snapped.

Reyna got in front of her, blocking the door to the bus. “What is your problem?” she asked, sounding more incredulous than angry.

Annabeth wanted to turn away. She didn’t want to have this conversation. She didn’t want to deal with but Reyna was right there. Annabeth couldn’t help it. She looked into her best friend’s face and saw the confusion and hurt in her expression and Annabeth lost control for the second time that day.

She began to cry, skipping the dainty tears pooling in her eyes, and immediately entering full sobbing ugly crying territory.

Reyna had her arms around her immediately. Annabeth threw her arms around Reyna’s neck and held her tight, sobbing into her shoulder. It felt so good. She didn’t want to let go. The sobs subsided though and Annabeth knew she had to be honest.

She gently pulled away from Reyna. She had to look up to make eye contact with her and she could see the concern all over Reyna’s face. _Gods, I’ve been so shitty to her. What is wrong with me?_

“I’m sorry,” Annabeth began. Her voice broke as the tears came back. She could see Reyna wanted to say something but she gestured for her to wait. “I know I’ve been acting crazy lately and I’ve been really awful to you. You didn’t deserve any of it and I’m really sorry.”

Annabeth had to pause to wipe her eyes and take a deep breath before she could continue. “It’s just…When I saw you with Jason last week it really upset me. I…I didn’t realize how close you guys were. And it bothered me that I didn’t know you as well as I thought I did. I thought…well I thought you guys might even get together. I was so jealous. It’s always been you and me. We’ve always been a team. I was so worried he was going to come between us, especially because he’s Roman.”

Reyna gave her a small smile, “Well, I can promise you that’s not going to happen.”

Annabeth managed to laugh a little. “Yeah, I figured that out.”

Reyna gave her another hurt look, “So why have you been avoiding me since Saturday?”

Annabeth sighed, “This is going to sound so selfish, because it is. It’s just…I couldn’t believe you never told me. That on top of the Jason thing just made me feel so…left out.” Annabeth looked Reyna in the eyes. “You know everything about me. Every secret. Everything. And it’s always been that way. You’ve been my best friend for so long…and then to find out there were all these parts of you I didn’t know about.” Annabeth got choked up again. “I just got so scared. It felt like the rug was ripped out from underneath me. I…I’ve never had a family. At least not one that mattered. All I’ve ever had is Chiron’s place and _you.”_

Annabeth began to sob again. Reyna stepped forward to comfort her but Annabeth stopped her. _I have to get this out._

“Do you remember when Luke died?” Annabeth asked. Luke had been the one who had found her after she’d run away. He’d taken her to Half-Blood House. He was the first person she met there. Reyna hadn’t come for another six months. Reyna had been more important, but Luke had been first. Her first real friend. The first member of the weird new family she’d found at Chiron’s place.

Reyna nodded solemnly. They’d both been there. They’d both seen his throat get slit. They’d both been there, trying to stop the blood, when they saw the light leave his eyes. It was the first real loss Annabeth had experienced. The first of many.

“It’s just…I’ve lost everyone. My dad. Luke. Silena. Clarisse. Jack. Gloria. Mitchell. Laura. Kira.” She stopped her litany unable to continue. _Too many. So many._

“I _can’t_ lose you,” Annabeth said. She sounded desperate but she didn’t even care. She needed Reyna to understand. “This whole week I’ve felt like I’m losing you. Or that I already lost you. And I just…can’t. I can’t imagine myself without you. I know it’s pathetic and you deserve to live your own life without worrying about me all the time but I _need_ you Reyna.”

Reyna stared at Annabeth. Her gaze was intense and Annabeth had to break it. “I know, it’s selfish. I’m sorry. I understand if you want some space or something,” Annabeth said lamely while staring at the ground.

She felt a firm hand beneath her chin and looked up into Reyna’s face. The sun was shining on Reyna’s dark hair which was in a neat braid over her shoulder. Her dark eyes were blazing. Annabeth was struck by her beautiful cheek bones, her broken nose, the scar directly beneath her right eye. _She looks like a goddess of war. She is so much more than any other demigod I’ve ever met._

Suddenly Reyna leaned down and Annabeth felt her pull her into kiss. Annabeth briefly froze, shocked by this unexpected gesture. Then she let herself melt into it. She reached her hands around Reyna’s neck and kissed her back, pulling Reyna’s lip between hers. She felt Reyna’s hand in her hair, and then her tongue in her mouth. Annabeth heard herself make a small sound of excited pleasure. Reyna’s other hand found her waist, and squeezed her tightly. Annabeth leaned up further, trying to close all the space between them.

Reyna reached both of her arms around Annabeth and lifted her up. Annabeth quickly complied, jumping slightly and wrapping her legs around Reyna’s waist. Reyna turned them around and pinned Annabeth against the bus. She broke the kiss. Annabeth tried to kiss her again, not wanting the moment to end but Reyna pressed her forehead against hers, looking her directly in the eyes.

“I love you Annabeth,” she said. Her voice was husky and direct, but somehow tender at the same time.

Annabeth felt her stomach flip as she met that intense gaze. She leaned in and kissed her again. She showered her with a series of quick kisses all over her face.

Reyna laughed and then kissed Annabeth again. This kiss was much slower and Annabeth reveled in every second of it. _I love you too._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so geeked over this, I really hope you all like it!


	8. Breakdowns and Breakthroughs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: domestic abuse, panic attacks  
> Love does not heal old wounds, but it can make the present more bearable.

Nico knew it had been a long time since he had let himself hope for something, but he hadn’t expected his reaction to be quite so visceral.

Nico wanted to hold Percy’s hand as they walked out of the library but he thought that might be pushing it. He didn’t want everyone else to see. Percy was too visible and Nico wanted this to stay personal and special. Truthfully, he was a little afraid. Nico hadn’t had something good happen to him in a long time. He didn’t want to risk…whatever was going on between him and Percy. He was afraid to push it too far, too think about it too much. A part of him almost felt that if he let himself be happy, let himself believe something good could happen to him, the universe would take it away.

He clenched and unclenched his hands in his pockets as he looked at Percy’s profile. The muscles around Percy’s jaw were visibly taut like he was grinding his teeth. He was walking a little fast which was unusual for him. Percy made a point of always looking relaxed. The fact that he was letting himself be this visibly stressed meant something was really wrong.

Nico wondered if he should slow down and let Percy just walk away and be alone but he wasn’t ready to be alone yet. He wanted to talk to Percy about everything that just happened. The things Chiron had told them had been so unexpected. A real place for kids like them. A place that was safe, where they could go to high school, learn about their godly parents and their powers, even practice fighting monsters. It sounded amazing. Nico didn’t like to admit it but he wanted to go there so badly.

He had expected Percy to be jumping for joy after that talk but instead he looked furious. He had been silent for most of the conversation with Chiron, his expression getting darker by the minute. Nico had tried to put his hand on Percy’s under the table and he’d pulled it away. Nico hadn’t tried to touch him since.

When they were with Chiron Nico had been focused on everything Chiron was telling him. Partially because he didn’t trust people and he thought it was important to always pay close attention to see when they are lying or trying to confuse you. Chiron had been sincere though and Nico could tell. He genuinely wanted to help them and he was going to do everything he could to do it. Nico knew it probably wouldn’t work, even Chiron admitted it would be difficult, but that was ok. The idea that at least one person was on their side had felt good to Nico.

 _So what’s bothering Percy?_  

Nico went back over the events in the library again his mind. _We walked in. We talked to that blonde girl. Percy attacked her._ Nico felt his stomach clench into a vice suddenly. The fear slammed into him so hard he actually collapsed. Suddenly he was on the floor of the hallway on his knees. His vision blurred slightly and he felt his chest constrict so tight he could barely breathe. His thought were swirling and hard to fully explain. A sense of overwhelming dread was all he could fully understand. Thoughts came and went. _That girl. The warden. They separated the males and female demigods because they can’t control themselves. What if he wants her? What if he hates me? What if he leaves? What if I’m alone? Alone. I’m alone. It’s dark. Where am I? The labyrinth. Oh gods. The labyrinth. I’ll never get out. I’m going to die down here. I’m so lost. They’re coming. They’re all coming for me. Bianca? Where is Bianca? Where am I? It talks to me. Oh gods, it talks._

“Back the fuck away from him,” Nico heard Percy’s voice low and steely. The threat was palpable and chilling. Nico felt himself shudder.

 _What’s going on?_ Nico began to come back to his senses. The panic had subsided but his heart was still racing. He was drenched with sweat. It took him a moment but he realized he was curled up in a ball holding his knees in the hallway. A small crowd of other inmates had gathered around him and Percy was kneeling beside him.

Nico wished he could shadow travel to literally anywhere else. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him. He didn’t like to be noticed period, but to have an audience for this? He wanted to die on the spot. Nico tried to stand up, wanting to run away from all of this unwelcome attention but when he sat up his head was spinning and he had to lay back down again.

“Are you ok?” Percy asked him. His face was pale and his eyes seemed darker.

“I’m fine,” Nico snapped. He tried to get up again and this time was able to get to his feet. He began to power walk away, not really sure where he was headed. He wanted to disappear. Percy didn’t leave his side.

“Nico, hey,” Percy said, trying to get his attention. Nico kept staring at the ground and walking. _I can’t believe he saw that. I can’t believe that just happened. I knew it. I ruin everything. I am broken. I can’t have good things. I can’t be around people._

“Nico. Nico slow down!” Percy reached out and grabbed Nico’s hand. Nico stopped but didn’t look up. He felt Percy step a little closer. “What just happened back there?” His voice was gentle. There was no judgement or pity. Just genuine concern. Nico felt tears well up in his eyes which made him angry. 

“Nothing. Forget about it.”

Nico felt Percy pull him slightly closer. They were only a few inches apart now. Nico could feel the heat radiating off of Percy’s body. He wanted throw his arms around him and bury his face in Percy’s chest but he knew he couldn’t do that.

“I get it,” Percy said quietly. “I have panic attacks sometimes too. And flashbacks. And nightmares. Pretty much every time I fall asleep I have a nightmare. I used to get sent to solitary on purpose so that I wouldn’t have a cell mate to hear me screaming every night.”

Nico felt himself began to cry. Large hot tears that he’d been trying to hold back escaped, coming to a rest on his cheeks, then dripping off his jaw.

“I can’t always control my anger either. But you know that. You saw me with that girl today. I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he let out a sigh. “I just can’t stand being looked down on, and when I think someone’s talking down to me I lose it. I just kept remembering how she got to spend her whole life free. She gets to live at that fucking house and got to go to a fucking prep school while I’ve been fighting just to survive with no answers and no help for my whole life. Not to mention being trapped in this fucking place I just…” he trailed off letting out an angry breath.

Nico looked up at him and the expression on Percy’s face was heartbreaking. “I’m really sorry I made you go to that. I know you just did it for me. You were right. I shouldn’t have gone and I really shouldn’t have made you.”

Nico didn’t second guess himself this time. He reached up and threw his arms around Percy’s neck. Percy didn’t hesitate, his arms were immediately around Nico’s waist, holding him tight, pressing their bodies together. Nico felt the tension drain from his body as he melted into Percy’s embrace. He felt safe. He felt whole. He felt loved.

They stayed like that for a while, neither moving, neither saying anything. Nico could feel Percy’s chest rise and fall with each breath. He could faintly detect his heart beating. It was the most intimate thing Nico had ever experienced.

“Don’t be sorry,” Nico finally said.

“What?” Percy asked, letting go enough that he could look at Nico’s face.

“You shouldn’t be sorry. I’m glad I went. I’m glad I got to talk to Chiron. I liked him and I really want to be in his program.” Nico felt like he was telling Percy one of his darkest secrets which he knew was absurd, but somehow Percy looked like he understood.

“I want to be in it too,” he said, not breaking eye contact with Nico as he did.

Their faces were mirrors of the same fear. The fear of hoping for something after a lifetime of disappointment.

 

Piper was in a strange mood. She’d noticed right away the change between Annabeth and Reyna. She knew she should have been thrilled, she was always thrilled when love worked out, but she didn’t want to think about them. She sat at the front of the bus on the way home from Half Blood Correctional Facility to avoid them.

When they got back to camp she only half-heartedly paid attention to the meeting. The second it was over she bolted out of the Big House. She needed space to think.

Without thinking she ended up walking to the woods. There was a spot on the west edge of the property where a copse of trees surrounded a small stream. It was beautiful and quiet.  Piper laid down in the tall green grass and took a deep cleansing breath. Whenever she was stressed she liked to spend time in nature. Her mother was the goddess of beauty and beauty always helped Piper clear her mind and feel more centered. It was hard to explain to people because they usually thought she meant watching make up tutorials or looking through fashion magazines. She liked that too, but there was something so cleansing and calming about the beauty of nature. The Greeks had always valued the beauty of the world around them, the beauty of things that were natural.

Piper finally felt calm. She let her mind drift. Unsurprisingly it began to replay the afternoon’s events.

Leo had walked straight to her table, her letter in his hand. Piper had tried to act casual, but she’d been nervous. She wasn’t sure how’d he’d respond to the letter. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure why she agreed to it, but when one of the sons of Hermes had told her Leo wanted her to write she had. She’d written out everything. Everything. She knew it was too much, that it made no sense for her to be telling him these things and yet she had.

_I know what it’s like to be defined by who your parents are. I know it probably sounds ridiculous to complain about having a famous actor and the goddess of love and beauty for parents but hear me out. Everyone expects me to be superficial and shallow. Everyone expects me to be the most attractive person in a room all the time. Honestly? I usually don’t feel all that beautiful. I don’t know why. I know it’s silly but I feel like people don’t actually see me when they look at me. They see this version of me they want to see. They see beauty because they expect to see beauty, not because they actually see me. I felt like you saw me though._

Piper had almost ripped up the letter after she reread it. It was so sappy and clichéd. She had ended up sending it through. She didn’t care that it was a little sappy, a little fanciful, it was honest. She was tired of silencing herself for fear of people thinking she was ridiculous or airheaded. Maybe she was a little ridiculous and dreamy, was that so wrong? Wasn’t that better than being jaded and guarded and unwaveringly practical?

When he’d approached Piper had begun to regret her decision. She couldn’t read the expression on his face and she was afraid that he’d judged her and thought she was vapid and whiny and was going to yell at her or make fun of her. She wanted to get up and run away but she was frozen to the spot as she watched him approach.

“Did you write this?” he had blurted out holding out the papers towards her.

Piper had nodded, unsure of what to say.

He hadn’t sat down. He was standing across the table from her and even though he wasn’t visibly fidgeting he seemed to be vibrating with energy.

“I- I’m not a good reader. I mean, it’s not like I can’t read, I can definitely read!  Except. Except not really. I mean, not long things and not when I’m distracted or excited which is pretty much always. It’s just.” He had paused then, going completely still for a second, apparently trying to calm himself. “I had to have one of my friends read it to me. I’m really sorry.”

Piper had laughed. Leo looked confused but not angry which was good. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to laugh at you. I’m just so relieved! I was so nervous about that letter.”

Leo sat down finally. “Why would you be nervous?”

“Because I didn’t want you to think I was just some rich air head who thinks she has problems,” Piper admitted.

“I mean I definitely think that,” Leo said but his tone and expression were playful. “But you know, a hardened criminal like myself has a hard time relating to other people. What can I say? I’m just too tough for my own good.”

Piper shooed a fly away from her head. The late afternoon sun was hot and shining right on her face. She knew that tomorrow she would still be warm and flushed from basking in it but she didn’t mind. Right now she felt like she could melt right into that golden light. To disappear into the grass that was tickling her bare arms and the back of her neck. She wasn’t sure why but she wanted to evaporate, to become the breeze and the golden light, and the shadows of the trees. She wanted to stop being a person and to simply be this one perfect idyllic moment.

She remained herself though and her mind wandered back to that afternoon.

After the fight between Annabeth and Percy the tone of their exchange changed. They had just been teasing each other, verbally sparring, but after the chaos passed and the two of them settled back at their table the mood was very different.

“I don’t think you should write me again,” Leo had said.

Piper’s face must have shown just how much the unexpected remark had hurt because he quickly began to clarify. “Shit. I mean, not because I don’t want to hear from you. Are you kidding? I’d build a temple for you if you wanted it. It’s just…I’m so bad at reading and I don’t want anyone else involved. I want a chance to get to know you for real. Do you think…Do you think I could call you? I have phone privileges. I could call you in the evenings. At like seven? It doesn’t have to be every evening! I’m sure you’re busy. But I mean-“

Piper had cut him off then. “Seven works for me.”

Leo had looked over then and noticed Jason. He was sitting at a table alone looking dejectedly at a pile of papers. He had been with Reyna and Chiron but after the incident he’d been abandoned.

Piper had felt her heart breaking when she looked at him. He was gorgeous, no matter what standard you used to determine that. The Greeks would have made statues of him. The Romans would have made him praetor. He should be in magazine ads and artsy movies, in sketchbooks of the great masters, and on posters in teen girl’s rooms. He was almost too beautiful to be real.

Piper hadn’t really paid much attention to Jason before that moment. She’d been focused on her weird connection to Leo, or to the mess between Annabeth and Reyna. Jason had been a background character in all of those things that were keeping her attention, never someone she felt the need to notice for his own sake. Now that she finally saw him though she couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed him before.

Even from a distance Piper could see that Jason felt broken. He shoulders were slumped. His eyes were downcast. He looked tragic and defeated, like he was carrying a heavy burden and no one could tell. Piper rarely noticed people’s auras but Jason was practically surrounded by a deep blue, almost black energy that conveyed the depths of his feeling.

Piper heard Leo sigh and snapped her attention back to him. She was about to ask him if he knew Jason but the look on his face stopped her. The mood had shifted between them again. His face looked more like it had the last time she had waved at him and he’d ignored her. He had a small half smile on his face that didn’t reach his eyes.

“That’s Jason. He read your letter for me. He’s a good guy. You guys have a lot in common. Hang on, I’ll go get him,” then Leo had stood up before Piper could say anything.

She had wanted to kick herself. She knew she had just ruined things between her and Leo which was particularly upsetting because she didn’t even know what was going on between the two of them. Or if there even was anything between the two of them. _And now I’ll never find out._

_Maybe people are right to think I’m shallow and selfish. Maybe I am._

 

Reyna felt ecstatic. She felt like the sun was shining out of her chest. She felt like her whole body was made of ichor. She didn’t just feel like she had too much energy, she felt like she _was_ energy, clumsily contained in a heavy slow body.

Chiron had Annabeth stay after the meeting to speak with him. At first Reyna felt defensive, but Annabeth had gently touched her hand and given her a look that told her not to do anything. Reyna had nodded and left the room briskly. _I guess she did attack that one kid today. Was that today? It feels like forever ago, I already forgot about that._

Reyna had forgotten about the scene at the correctional facility. She’d forgotten about her conversation with Jason. She had forgotten what she’d eaten for breakfast, and the silent treatment Annabeth had given her, and possibly even her own name. She just kept replaying that moment with Annabeth over and over in her mind. The look in Annabeth’s eyes when she finally admitted how she felt. The feel of her lips, soft but demanding. The sound of her breath catching and small elated sighs escaping her lips. The feel of her legs clamped around her waist, her fingers tangled in her hair.

Reyna had no idea how long they’d stayed like that in the parking lot, practically devouring each other. They’d parted eventually. They both knew that soon people would come to check on them and neither of them wanted to cause a scene. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was instinct, maybe it was a leader’s intuition, but somehow they had managed to stop kissing and compose themselves almost immediately before people began to file out to the parking lot.

On the bus ride home they had been separated. Annabeth sat with Chiron and Reyna sat across from them trying not to look too conspicuous. They’d sat together at the meeting afterwards and Reyna knew no one would think anything of it, they always sat together. Reyna had gently placed her hand on Annabeth’s thigh, her touch so light it was almost a question. _May I?_ Annabeth had placed her hand firmly on top of Reyna’s, keeping it there for the rest of the meeting. A clear answer. _Yes._

Reyna wanted to wait for Annabeth to come out of the Big House but there was no way she would be able to stay still for that long. She had no idea if this meeting would take five minutes or forty and either way Reyna needed to do something. She needed to celebrate! Not to burn off the energy, the way she normally felt, but to unleash it, to set herself free.

Reyna was wearing her usual volunteering outfit that consisted of a standard issue t-shirt, ripped boyfriend jeans, and a pair of Adidas. Not her standard workout clothes, but they would work. Reyna didn’t even bother getting out her headphones to play music, she just took off in a random direction.

She started with a quick jog. Even now she didn’t want to risk injuring herself by maxing out too early. Soon though the slow pace wasn’t cutting it. She felt her muscles warming up and knew she should probably do a little more but for the second time that day she threw caution for the wind and went for it. She burst out into a run, aimlessly running toward the perimeter of the grounds.

She saw people giving her strange looks as she ran by them but she didn’t care. She just smiled at everyone and kept going. She was flying. She could feel it. She almost wished she’d set up her lap timer because she knew that she was setting a personal record. Her whole body felt like a high performance machine that was finally being allowed to show off. She didn’t think about her breathing, which was deep and smooth. She didn’t think about her gait or her pace or the cellphone bouncing in her back pocket. She didn’t even think about Annabeth. She thought about absolutely nothing except the feeling of soaring over the earth. For the first time in her life she finally found that elusive feeling she knew she was chasing with every workout and every battle. That feeling that was just out of reach no matter how far she pushed herself or how many monsters she took down.

_Freedom._

 

As a son of Hephaestus Leo knew he could fix just about anything. It was because he understood how things fit together, he could see the way connections were supposed to be made, how pieces were supposed to fit. He also knew that some things could not be fixed, particularly a broken heart.

When he’d seen the way Piper had looked at Jason the small hopeful place that her letter had kindled inside him completely died out. For the first time in a very long time he wasn’t worried that he was going to set fire. He felt snuffed out. Extinguished. Cold and spent.

He’d more or less zoned out after that. He brought Jason over to their table and he and Piper had talked while Leo had sat quietly, not listening and not caring. _Of course. Of course. Why didn’t I see this coming? They’re perfect for each other. They’re practically the same person! High profile dads. Rich and hot but somehow still feel sorry for themselves all the time. I’m so fucking stupid. Look at them! They’re the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen! Of course they’d find each other. Of course. Of course._

Leo had spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in the workshop. A couple of the older guys were teaching him about the special defenses the prison had to keep monsters out. Leo had never seen celestial bronze before and he was amazed at how it could be used for pretty much everything. He hadn’t realized how quickly the afternoon ended. The Hephaestus kids all got special privileges since they really were the ones that kept the prison running. As such he was able to have someone bring him a tray to the workshop. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hide in there all night.

He hated that he had to see Jason already. He knew it wasn’t Jason’s fault and didn’t want to be mad at him but still. _Can’t I have one good thing? Just one?_  Leo knew that feeling sorry for himself wasn’t going to help his situation but he also felt like he deserved at least a little time to be pissed off. _I’m fifteen. I’m in jail for foreseeable future. I don’t have any parents and the closest thing I have ever had to a girlfriend just snuffed me for the closest thing I have to a best friend. I’m allowed to feel bad for myself! My life fucking sucks._

No matter how much he justified his anger and gave himself permission to wallow just for a while it didn’t change that Leo had to report back to his cell and see Jason.

Leo saw Jason sitting at the foot of his bunk and did his very best to ignore him. Without acknowledging him Leo flopped onto his own bunk and rolled over so that Jason could only see his back.

Jason apparently did not get the hint.

“Your girlfriend was really nice. Thanks for letting me sit with you guys,” he said. His voice was quiet and careful. _He’s not an idiot. He knows what’s going on._ Leo didn’t respond and Jason continued in that same cautious tone. “I didn’t see you at dinner today. It must be nice to eat in the workshop. Are you working on anything cool?”

The heat that had been absent in Leo all day suddenly burst back to life. Searing anger shot through his body. _How dare he? How dare he patronize me? Who the fuck does he think he is?_

Leo rolled over suddenly and sat upright, staring directly into Jason’s eyes. “What the fuck is your problem man?”

If Jason was surprised he managed not to look it. That same defeated expression he’d been wearing all day didn’t change, if anything he just looked even sadder. It made Leo even angrier. _What does he have to be upset about?_

“What did I do Leo?” Jason asked. His tone was earnest and patient but there was a hint of beseeching that he could not disguise.

Leo felt his hands catch fire. _No. No. Stop._ He couldn’t stop though. He felt his head burst into flames. Leo stood, doing his best to distance himself from anything flammable. His whole body was ablaze now. Leo could see Jason cowering back on his bunk, his long legs awkwardly pulled up against his chest in an attempt to keep them out of the way. Hot fat tears fell from Leo’s eyes and almost immediately sizzled away into steam.

Leo felt trapped. He couldn’t move or he’d send their whole bunk into flames. He collapsed against the back wall of the cell. He knew he’d singe the wall but it wasn’t flammable so he couldn’t be bothered to care. He sat there and wept, letting the hot steam of his tears cloud his vision, the flames still completely beyond his control.

He watched as Jason got off of his bunk and carefully sat down on the floor across from Leo. Leo could see the flames dancing across Jason’s face, casting interesting shadows all over his perfect features. There was no anger or fear in his expression. There was no pity either. There was a look of patient understanding as Jason sat across from Leo was if trying to remind him ‘I’m here. You’re not alone’

Minutes passed and the blaze began to recede. Each time the flames got smaller Jason would inch a little closer. Finally, they were extinguished and Leo was left sitting against the wall, still crying, all of his clothes burned completely away. Jason wordlessly grabbed a blanket off of his cot and covered Leo with it. Then he scooted beside Leo. The two of them could barely fit side by side in the narrow space between their bunks. The two of them sat like that, in a restful silence for a long time. Leo finally was the one to break it.

“I killed her. I didn’t mean to! Sometimes it just gets out of control and I can’t stop. I was young and I was scared and we were hiding. We were hiding in this shop from her crazy ex. He was yelling and throwing tools and I was so scared it just happened and I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t know what was happening! And then…then he locked the door and I still couldn’t stop. The flames were everywhere and I was trying to break the windows or bust down a door to get her out but I couldn’t do anything.” Tears began to slide relentlessly down Leo’s face. He didn’t even notice. “I killed her. I killed my own mother.”

Leo felt Jason put an arm around Leo’s shoulders gently.

“You didn’t kill her. The man who locked you both in there did. Why were you hiding?”

“He would hit her. He would get so angry whenever she would leave the house or talk to anyone else. He was furious that day because he came in when she was talking to a client.” Leo’s breath caught into a sob. It took him a moment before he could continue. “He was screaming and throwing things and he hit her with this wrench. She fell and she was bleeding and I was so scared. She was trying to crawl away and he was still hitting her and I didn’t know what to do. I was terrified. And then...” Leo broke down into sobs again. “And then I killed her!”

Jason pulled Leo to him, gently cradling him against his chest like a small child. Leo was beyond feeling any shame or discomfort. He let himself be held and sob into Jason’s broad chest. He felt Jason begin to gently stroke his hair. _Gods help me but I don’t want this to stop. I need this. Please. I need someone._

“You didn’t kill her,” Jason said quietly and he repeated it over and over with each stroke of Leo’s hair until Leo fell asleep in his arms.

 

 

 


	9. Breakfast and Books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are weird between Jason and Leo  
> Annabeth comforts Piper  
> Percy and Nico finally kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the last chapter was pretty heavy so I hope you enjoy this fluff

Annabeth thought that finally talking things out with Reyna would mean things would finally be normal again. She was wrong.

“Do you really think it will work?” Hazel asked, her eyes wide. It was breakfast at Chiron’s Place and word was getting around quickly about Jason’s plans to file a lawsuit against the gods.

Reyna shrugged, “I think if anyone is smart enough to figure it out Jason’s definitely the one. And he is a son of Jupiter, god of Justice, so all of this should come naturally to him.”

Annabeth still didn’t like hearing about Jason but she was trying to be rational. _Reyna literally told me she loves me. Why am I so jealous of Jason?_

Reyna and Hazel continued their exchange and Annabeth noticed that Piper was being conspicuously quiet. She was pushing her spoon around in her oatmeal dejectedly and not eating, just staring into the bowl.

“Oatmeal is a pretty depressing food,” Annabeth ventured. Piper finally looked up and Annabeth continued, “I have a feeling that’s not what’s wrong though. Do you want to talk?”

Tears pooled in Piper’s eyes and she shook her head no.

Annabeth gently placed her arm around Piper’s shoulders and Piper leaned into her, clearly grateful for the gesture. This apparently caught Reyna’s attention. Reyna arched an eyebrow discretely at Annabeth and Annabeth shrugged minutely. The two of them knew each other so well they could easily communicate without words.

“What’s going on Pipes?” Reyna asked.

Piper sighed and brushed away an errant tear that had escaped. “Nothing. I mean, it’s stupid. It’s not a big deal.”

“Well, it’s clearly a big deal if you’re crying about it,” Hazel replied unimpressed with Piper’s lame attempt to deflect. “What’s going on?”

Piper shrugged out of Annabeth’s embrace and began studying her oatmeal again. “I’m not sure if I want to talk about it.”

Reyna scoffed. “All you’ve done since you got to this camp was make me talk about things I don’t want to talk about.”

Annabeth nodded, “Same. I got into a fight with a Big Three demigod who’s in jail for _murder_ and it’s all your fault!”

Piper laughed, “How is that my fault?”

“I’m not sure but Reyna told me it was your fault and I believe her.”

Reyna nodded again, “It was your fault. Trust me.”

Hazel’s eyes got huge again. “Annabeth! You did what?! Piper! What have you been doing?”

Piper burst into peals of laughter and Annabeth was quick to join in. _Gods, everything is just so ridiculous._

“Don’t worry Hazel,” Annabeth said when she finally composed herself. “I had everything under control.”

Reyna rolled her eyes, “Sure you did. That’s why I had to literally carry you out of the room.”

Annabeth shrugged and then looked up playfully into Reyna’s eyes. “Pretty sure you just did that because you wanted to.”

Annabeth had the distinct pleasure of seeing Reyna blink rapidly a few times. This was basically as close to flustered as Reyna ever got. She finally smirked, using the same teasing tone with Annabeth. “You’re not wrong. Maybe I should do it again now.”

Suddenly Piper completely lost it, dissolving into a fit of laughter. Annabeth was confused at first until she saw Hazel’s face. Her mouth had dropped open in shock, her eyes even wider than before. Annabeth had to turn around to follow her gaze. Then it was Annabeth’s turn to start laughing uncontrollably.

Someone had brought a fog machine into the mess hall and the room was quickly filling with white steam. Seemingly out of nowhere a white sheet had materialized on the far wall of the cafeteria just behind the table Annabeth, Reyna, Piper and Hazel always sat at. Someone had spray painted on it, “Hazel, In case you MIST it, I’m DYING to make you mine. XO Your Secret Admirer.”

“What is going on today?” Hazel demanded.

Everyone was laughing hysterically and Reyna managed to say "That's a good offense." 

 

Jason had always heard people call breakfast the most important meal of the day, but he didn’t realize just how eventful breakfast could be.

Jason had found the Stoll brother’s first thing in the morning to get Leo new clothes.

“What happened to his old clothes?” Connor asked, clearly confused by this request.

“They caught fire,” Jason said simply. He didn’t want to tell them too much about what had happened with Leo but he figured that was a pretty unavoidable detail.

“Awesome,” Travis said with a smile.

“Totally,” Connor agreed. “I’ve got it. No worries.”

Connor then walked away leaving Jason with just Travis.

Travis arched and eyebrow and stepped a little closer to Jason, leaning in and smelling him. “You smell a little smoky there golden boy. What’d you do to piss off the kid?”

“Nothing!” Jason said maybe a little too quickly.

Travis smiled, “Of course. You never do anything wrong, do you?”

 “No. That’s not it. I didn’t do anything though, I think it’s just…me. I don’t know, people tend to get worked up whenever I’m around.”

Travis nodded, “Makes sense. You’ve got one of those faces.”

“Excuse me?”

“You know, one of those faces that just make people want to either kiss you or punch you. I’m sure that most people in here go for the second one.”

Jason sighed, “Apparently.”

Travis punched Jason on the arm playfully. “Come on dude, breakfast. I’m starving.”

They walked together to the cafeteria. “So, what sort of nothing were you doing when Leo got ‘worked up’?” Travis asked. His tone was casual but Jason knew that the Stoll’s liked to know everything that was going on at all times.

Jason was not going to even hint at what Leo had told him last night, but he figured that the lead up was fair game and would probably satisfy the Stoll’s curiosity.

“I don’t know. I didn’t even see him for most of the day. I sat with him for part of the time when the Chiron’s Place people were here.”

Travis stopped completely to turn and stare at Jason. “Dude, you didn’t.”

Jason was confused. “What do you mean?”

Travis sighed and ran a hand through his hair, briefly pushing it out of his eyes. “Please tell me he wasn’t with that Aphrodite chick.”

Jason felt his stomach begin to turn as he finally began to understand what was going on. “Yeah, but it wasn’t a big deal! They’d been alone the whole time before Percy fought that blonde girl and then he came over after Chiron and Reyna abandoned me…”

Travis didn’t say anything, he just continued to stare at Jason with his arms fold across his chest. “Fuck. I’m an idiot.”

Travis nodded, “Yes you are. A giant handsome idiot. Girls love that shit.” Travis called the last sentence over his shoulder as he began to walk towards the cafeteria again.

Jason groaned, “There’s no way Piper likes me! She wrote Leo that letter, she was just being nice because I was all by myself.”

“Do you think Leo believes that?”

“No,” Jason admitted with a huff.

“You’re lucky he didn’t torch that pretty face of yours. I would have.”

Percy and Nico were already at their usual table so Jason and Travis joined them. Connor arrived a few minutes later with Leo in tow, sporting a jumpsuit that looked absolutely identical to the one that he’d burned to nothing the night before. _Where in the world do they get this stuff so quickly?_

“Hey human torch, I heard you almost burned pretty boy’s face off last night,” Travis said as Leo sat down.

Jason saw Leo freeze. _Shit. No, Leo I promise I didn’t tell them anything._  Mercifully Leo quickly recovered. “He deserved it. Did he tell you the whole story?” His tone was casual, as if the whole story was no big deal and Jason was amazed at his ability to pretend to be ok.

Travis nodded, “I heard he crashed your date, or as Jason would say; he didn’t do anything.”

Leo laughed and Jason was able to detect just the faintest look of relief cross his features.

“Yup, that’s Jason. He never does anything wrong,” Leo looked at Jason and held his gaze for a moment. Jason felt goosebumps form all over his arms as he remembered holding Leo in his arms and telling him “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Leo looked away and continued in his typical sarcastic tone, “I ended up being merciful because unlike tough guy over here I don’t like going to solitary.” He gestured to Percy who was sitting directly across from him.

Percy smiled, “Solitary is great. 10/10. Would recommend.”

“I don’t know how you managed not to get sent there after you attacked that chick,” Connor commented.

“Hey she attacked _me_! I’m the victim in all this!”

Everyone laughed.

“Nico, you were there. Was Percy the victim?” Travis asked.

Nico nodded, “Definitely. That girl was crazy.”

“Crazy hot! What’d you say to her Percy? I’d like to have Annabeth on top of me like that,” Connor responded.

Leo and Travis laughed and normally Jason would have too but he saw the color drain from Nico’s face, which was alarming because Nico was already way too pale. Percy gave a halfhearted smirk but clearly looked uncomfortable.

“You’re lucky it wasn’t you Connor, she probably would have killed you,” Percy deflected.

“Man I wish one of those girls would kill me,” Travis said dreamily and everyone laughed again. Nico even let out a chuckle but Jason could tell it was forced.

“What were you doing crashing Leo’s date when you have that hot scary girl writing you letters?” Connor asked Jason.

“Her name is Reyna and I’m not her type,” Jason replied.

“That must be a first for you,” Percy teased.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Come on guys, you have to get tired of this joke soon. I’m not that good looking.”

“Stop teasing me, I’m not _that_ good looking,” Connor mocked him, and it was greeted by a chorus of laughs.

“What’s good Jason, she gay or something?” Travis asked.

The question was very casual, with no condemnation evident in his tone but Jason could feel the mood of the table change. _Fuck. Please don’t kill me Reyna._

“Yeah, she is actually. I think she and Annabeth have a thing,” Jason admitted.

Travis looked over at Percy, “Sorry bro, sounds like your girlfriend is spoken for.”

Percy smiled, “So am I actually.”

There was a clamor as everyone reacted to this information.

“What! Why didn’t you tell us? We could have been getting out letters for you,” Connor exclaimed.

“I told you man, chicks dig bad boys,” Leo said to Jason.

Percy’s smile was definitely genuine now and he looked devious, much like the perpetual expression of the Stoll brothers, “It’s not official yet, but I’m pretty sure he’s really into me.”

Silence descended on the table for a moment but Leo quickly broke it with a loud groan. “Don’t tell me you’re in love with Jason too!”

Everyone laughed as Jason let his face drop into his hands in defeat.

The conversation moved on quickly but Jason was sure he wasn’t the only who noticed that Nico had turned bright and was actually smiling for the rest of the meal.

 

Percy had been forced to learn everything in his life on his own. He’d learned to fight because it was either fight or die. He’d learned how to comfort himself because if he didn’t do it no one would. Now he was learning a new daunting skill, how to be in love.

 _I have to just kiss him. Next time. Next time I will kiss him. Tomorrow morning I will see him first thing before breakfast and I will kiss him and it will be great._  

Percy was up basically the whole night thinking about Nico. He relived the moment in the hallway when Nico had collapsed. Percy had been horrified. He just kept thinking _Not him. I can’t lose him too. I have lost everything and everyone I can’t lose him._ Nico had been fine though. Well, maybe not fine since panic attacks tended to be pretty horrible, but he was still there. He didn’t disappear or turn into a monster. He didn’t abandon him. He wasn’t angry. He didn’t start screaming and tell Percy it was all his fault. He’d hugged him. He’d opened up to him.

Percy had known in that moment that he loved him. Percy had already been tossing the idea around a little in his mind, but now there was absolutely no doubt in his mind. _I love him. I need him. I have no clue what I’m doing. Fuck. I’ve never even kissed anyone before!_  

As a general rule Percy tried not to think about love and romance and all of that sort of thing because it was too upsetting. Percy had been imprisoned since before he even finished puberty. He had exactly zero experience in that department. Sure, he’d had some crushes when he was little and kissed a couple girls on the cheek in elementary school but that didn’t seem like particularly relevant experience right now.

Percy had been so distracted lately he hadn’t really thought about it before but he did have another secret that he had not told Nico. _Not a secret, just something he doesn't know about me yet._  Percy loved romance novels. People were always trying to teach him how to read and it never really clicked for Percy until he discovered the wonderful world of trashy romance novels. He’d been hiding from something or another in a library at one of the first prisons he was sent to and ended up in the romance section. He had picked one up finally out of a desire to simply do something with his hands. He hadn’t even opened it to the beginning, just a random page in the middle. He read three chapters before he even realized what he was doing. After that he would spend pretty much all of his free time hiding in the library shelves reading romance novels.

At his next prison Percy hadn’t even bothered to hide it. He would walk around with a romance novel in his hand and read them outside or in the cafeteria. Occasionally someone would make a comment about it and he would beat the shit out of them. It was a remarkably effective way to make people mind their own business.

Essentially everything Percy knew about love and sex came from between the covers of a paperback romance novel. _I’m so fucked._  

Despite hyping himself up to see Nico all morning when he finally did meet up with him before breakfast he didn’t do anything.

“Hey,” Nico said casually as Percy came up to him.

“Hey,” Percy replied. “How’d you sleep last night?”

Nico shrugged, “I didn’t really. I was still pretty keyed up.”

Percy nodded, “I feel you.” _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Why am I so awkward? When did this get so hard? Come on Percy. You can do this. You’re the hero, remember. Just…be like those guys in the books._

“Do you like to read?” Percy asked suddenly as they got their breakfast trays.

Nico gave him a strange look. “Not really. Do you?”

Percy felt himself blushing and looked up, avoiding eye contact with Nico to help him calm down. “Yeah. I mean I like to read certain kinds of books.”

“What kind?” Nico asked.

“What?”

“What kind of books do you like to read?”

“Oh um…you know. Books.”

_Fuck! Percy! What is wrong with you?_

“Are you alright?” Nico asked him, giving him a long look as they sat down at their usual table.

Percy shook his head, “No. I’m nervous.”

“What’s making you nervous?”

“You are.” Percy admitted. This time it was Nico’s turn to blush. His whole face turned bright red and he looked away, clearly not wanting Percy to see.

“Oh yeah? Why do I make you nervous?”

 _Because I love you._ Percy thought but before he could answer Jason and Travis sat down.

Percy was angry because he had wasted a perfect opportunity _again_ but also grateful for more time to get himself together. He didn’t want to mess things up, he wanted things to be right with him and Nico. Percy hadn’t had anything go right in his life, this needed to be his exception.

The banter at the table helped Percy feel more like himself again. When he saw an opening, he took it.

Nico’s reaction made it clear that Percy had definitely made the right move. He turned crimson again which was adorable, but more important was the giant smile on his face. Percy could tell he was trying to fight it and couldn’t and that made it even better. _Yes! I can do this! I can flirt!_

As everyone was leaving after breakfast Percy knew it would finally be his time. _I’m not going to blow it this time. This will be our moment._

Percy was clearing his tray, and thinking about how he was going to pull Nico aside and kiss him when felt someone standing too close to him. He turned and saw it was Leo and that he looked terrible. There were black circles under his eyes and he looked exhausted and dazed.

“Hey, Percy, could I um…Could I talk to you maybe real quick?”

Percy was hit with a wave of disappointment as he realized that his perfect moment wasn’t about to happen after all. He knew he could say no, but he could tell that Leo really needed him and he couldn’t let him down. Whatever had happened must have been bad.

“Sure,” Percy said. “What’s up?”

Leo opened his mouth as if to say something, then his eyes cut over to something behind Percy. Percy turned and saw Nico was standing by them now.

“Should I go?” Nico asked as he saw Leo’s expression.

“No! Stay. Actually this is good. You can both help me. It’s just…”

Percy looked at him expectantly. _What? What could possibly be freaking you out so badly?_

“What do you do when you like someone who could never like you back?” Leo finally blurted out.

Percy was both confused as to why Leo thought he would know anything about this and annoyed that Leo was wasting his time.

“That girl? Come on man, don’t get so down on yourself. You know Jason isn’t really gonna steal her.”

Leo looked crestfallen.

“Yeah, you’re right. Never mind.” He began to turn to walk away and Nico called after him.

Nico jogged a little to catch up to him and put his hand on Leo’s shoulder as he said something. Now Percy was super confused. He walked over to see what in the world was going on.

“I had a really bad panic attack last night and now this and it’s just…I feel like I don’t know what’s going on or how to deal with anything anymore and I’m so confused,” Leo was saying. He was only barely holding back tears.

“It happens to all of us. I know it’s scary but right now you’re mixing your fear from that with the newness of your feelings and that’s why you’re so overwhelmed. Just remember that fear is lying. You are safe. You are not in danger. You are not evil or going insane and none of this is your fault. Everything else will work out with time and it’s ok that you don’t understand it yet. Give yourself time to feel better. You’ll be ok.”

Leo nodded. He still looked overwrought but apparently whatever Nico had said to him had helped a little. “Thanks. You’re right. I just… I needed to tell someone I guess.”

Nico gently rubbed Leo’s shoulder. “I understand. You can always talk to me. Trust me, I get it.”

Leo gave a small smile and then looked over to Percy who was standing behind Nico and still not following what was going on very well.

“Thanks guys,” he said and then he began walking towards the workshop.

“What just happened?” Percy asked as he watched Leo walk away.

Nico sighed, “It’s nothing. You wouldn’t get it.”

 

Annabeth wasn’t really one for feelings but she knew that Piper needed her. _Also, she needs to feel better so she can help me because I have no idea what I’m doing._

“Piper!” Annabeth called to her after the morning training session. Piper was in a better mood after the ridiculous breakfast they’d had, but it was clear she was still struggling.

Piper slowed and let Annabeth walk alongside her to put away their weapons.

“I know you said you didn’t want to talk about it, but are you sure you’re ok?” Annabeth asked.

Piper was quiet for a moment. “Actually, I would like to talk about it. Do you think we could maybe go somewhere private for a little while?”

“Of course. Come on, we can talk in my room.”

They linked arms and walked back to Annabeth’s room in a comfortable silence. Once there they both sat on Annabeth’s bed and Annabeth waited for Piper to be speak up.

“This is probably going to sound really stupid,” Piper began. Annabeth waited patiently as Piper continued. “I don’t like to talk about it because I think no one will believe me and because it sounds weird but I can sense love. I can feel when two people are right for each other, especially if they needed help working it out. I can sense when people need a little push in the right direction. I like to think that that’s my mother’s influence, that’s me helping to do her work.”

“Wait…is that how all of this has been your fault? Did you sense something…” Annabeth couldn’t finish her sentence. She hadn’t actually told anyone about what had happened between her and Reyna yet. Also, Piper hadn’t explicitly said that’s what happened with her and Reyna. _What if that’s not it at all? What if she doesn’t sense anything between us and tells me we’re wrong for each other?_

Piper laughed, “Yes, but that doesn’t make how ridiculous you two have been acting my fault.”

Annabeth felt a wave of relief course through her body, quickly followed by giddiness. _Piper sensed it. We are right for each other._

“It’s just I had a sense like that with Leo,” Piper continued and Annabeth quickly reminded herself to focus on the problem at hand. “At least I thought I did. But then I saw Jason…”

 _Poor Leo._ Annabeth was starting to see where this was going.

“I saw him and it’s like I couldn’t look away. A part of me just felt like he needed me, that we needed each other.”

“And now you feel guilty because you don’t feel that way about Leo anymore,” Annabeth continued for her.

“No, that’s the whole problem. I still do.”

Now it was Annabeth’s turn to be confused. “You do?”

Tears welled in Piper’s eyes as she continued. “I know, it sounds so selfish and shallow but I feel something for both of them and I don’t know what it means! I’ve never felt anything for anyone before, I’ve only ever felt the love between other people. Now I finally thought I found it for myself and I can’t even get that right.”

Annabeth wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against her chest. “Hey, hey it’s ok. I don’t know very much about this sort of thing, but I can tell that right now your biggest problem is how you think about yourself. You keep saying you’re selfish and stupid and no one is going to listen to you. None of that is true. You are kind and loving and a really great person. You are my best friend and I believe in you. I don’t know what’s going on but I know that you will figure it out and turn it into something beautiful because that’s what you do.”

Piper hugged Annabeth tight for a moment and then sat back up. “Thanks. I’ll work on that.” Annabeth offered her a tissue box and Piper blew her nose and wiped her eyes.

“You know Reyna is not going to like you having another best friend,” Piper commented.

Annabeth smiled, “I’m sure she will be fine. Besides I don’t really think she’s my best friend anymore.”

Piper smiled, “No way. I knew something happened between you guys. Ok. Your turn to spill. Tell me everything!”

 

Jason had a feeling Leo probably didn’t want to talk to him, but Jason couldn’t stop thinking about everything. _I have to apologize. I have to explain._

Jason was worried that Leo would spend the whole day hiding in the shop again today but thankfully he showed up to lunch. When he saw Leo carrying his tray he waved him over to sit with him. The Stoll brothers were off running errands for the sons of Dionysus to get ingredients for another batch of pruno so it was just the two of them.

“I didn’t think you’d come to lunch today,” Jason admitted as Leo sat down across from him.

Leo shrugged as he took a bite of his burrito, “There isn’t much work in the shop right now so everyone is fighting over it. I figured I’d step out for a while.”

“Listen, Leo, I’m really sorry about yesterday. I should have known not to bother you and Piper, I promise I wasn’t trying to come between you guys.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Leo replied. “Some things just fit together. You guys fit together, it’s just how it is.”

Jason was confused, “What are you talking about? Leo I don’t like her like that.”

“Trust me Jason I know when things fit together. I’m a son of Hephaestus remember? I could tell, the two of you fit together.”

“What about us?” Jason countered.

Leo looked up at him alarmed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean us! We fit together! You’re one of the first real friends I’ve ever had. Your stupid jokes always make me laugh when I need it most and I feel like I can tell you anything and even though you’re probably going to make fun of me you’re going to listen. I don’t know what you think you felt between this girl and me but I don’t even know her. I know you and I’m telling you I won’t let this get between us.”

Jason was a little surprised by his own outburst. He hadn’t realized it, but that’s why he had been so upset. He was worried that Leo was going to push him away after everything that had happened and Jason didn’t want to think about that possibility.

Jason was surprised that Leo didn’t make a dumb joke or brush it all off. Instead Leo looked into Jason’s eyes and nodded, “Ok.”

“Ok?” Jason asked.

“Yeah, ok. I hear you. Things won’t get weird.”

“Oh. Ok.” Jason replied, still confused about how this had all ended up working out.

“Ok,” Leo repeated.

Jason believed that Leo was being sincere, but he also could feel that things between them were weirder than ever.

 

The bizarre encounter between Leo and Nico had Percy flustered. He spent the rest of the morning working out to distract him. Although it didn’t clear up any of his questions it did help psych him back up again.

Percy was not going to let another opportunity go to waste. He waited for Nico outside the cafeteria at lunch. It felt like he was waiting forever, but finally he saw Nico approaching. He felt his heart begin to pound in his chest, and instead of worrying about it he focused on it. He let the sound of his heartbeat fill his thoughts and center him.

Nico walked up to him and Percy reached out and took his hand. “Hey, I was thinking we could ditch lunch. I’d like to show you something.”

Nico nodded and tried to pull his hand back but Percy held it firmly, not letting go as the two of them walked to the library.

The library was deserted. Percy turned off the lights as they walked in so the only light came in through the high windows, putting them into a sort of twilight ambience.

Percy led Nico to the far back corner and gestured for him to sit down. Percy sat down next to him.

“This is my favorite section of the library,” Percy said.

Nico glanced around. “Because it’s far from the doors so no one can see you?”

Percy smiled, “That’s definitely an added plus, but no.” He reached up and pulled a paperback romance novel from the shelf behind him. “These are my favorite kinds of books. I used to hate reading until I found these.”

Nico glanced up at the shelves around them apparently finally taking in the fact that they were in the romance section.

“I know people like to make fun of them, but I really like them. Everything always works out. There’s always a happy ending for the good guys, and the bad guys always get what’s coming to them. And all of the people who feel hurt or alone end up ok in the end, with someone who loves them. I’ve heard people complain about them and say that they are nothing like real life but I think that’s the whole point. We should be trying to make our real lives more like these fantasies, not trying to take them away from people because they aren’t realistic. I don’t know how things are going to work out in my life. I don’t know if I’m going to have a happy ending.”

He turned his head and looked directly into Nico’s face. Percy gently pushed his hair off of his forehead and away from his eyes so he could look into them. “The one thing I do know is that it all started to seem possible after I met you.”

He leaned down and very gently pressed a feather soft kiss against Nico’s lips. It was tender and hesitant and a little awkward, not the earth shattering intoxicating kisses Percy had read about but that was ok with him. It was real and it was perfect.

“That was my first kiss,” Nico said quietly when Percy pulled away.

“Mine too,” Percy admitted smiling.

“Does this mean…?” Nico asked not finishing the question.

“It means you have to hold my hand in public now,” Percy replied.

Nico laughed. He leaned up and kissed Percy again. It was still just a small kiss but Percy could feel where Nico’s lips had been on his afterward and it made him almost giddy.

“I think I can handle that,” Nico said smiling.

Percy leaned down and kissed him again. The two of them spent the rest of lunch in their little corner of the library, giggling and pressing chaste kisses on each other’s faces and necks. It was the most fun either of them had ever had.


	10. Benevolent Gods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico comes up with a plan to help Jason  
> Leo works on a fancy car  
> Piper has some unexpected conversations

Leo was having a bizarre week. Between having a massive breakdown and some confusing new feelings Piper’s rejection had more or less slipped his mind. So when the Stoll’s said they had a letter for him he was legitimately confused.  

“From who?” he asked.

Connor gave him a look like he was stupid. “Piper, obviously. How many girlfriends do you have?”

Leo smirked as he took the envelope. “Too many to keep track of my friend.”

 _What the fuck? Did she really write me a break up letter? That’s cold._  

Leo tucked the letter into his jumpsuit pocket and ignored it. He was actually feeling ok today. He’d skipped the Camp Half Blood visitors on Thursday and it had been a huge relief. Afterward Jason had been ecstatic and animatedly told Leo all about his meeting the Satyrs. They had agreed that he had a good plan and were going to move forward with suing the gods. The whole thing still seemed pretty far-fetched to Leo. _Since when have the gods ever cared about being fair?_ But he had enjoyed seeing how excited Jason was. His bruises were finally fully healed. He was devastatingly good looking. His blonde hair had gotten a little long since he had arrived and now skimmed his eyebrows. Excitement had made his blue eyes glitter. Leo had encouraged Jason to keep talking so he could stare at his cheekbones, study the angle of his jaw, wonder about the faint scar on his upper lip.

Leo had joked about how beautiful Jason was from the moment he met him, because that’s what Leo did about his feelings. He made jokes so he could hide behind them and not have to face the reality. He was tired of that though. He gave himself permission to think about Jason’s wide shoulders and strong arms. He didn’t look away or laugh when he noticed the way the wind always seemed to be ruffling Jason’s hair like a model in a photoshoot, even when there was no discernable breeze. He drank in the details, gave himself permission to appreciate and enjoy and admire Jason’s perfection. He didn’t really have a real reason why. He just wanted to be happy, and giving himself permission to check out Jason made him happy. He was ok with it being as simple as that.

Leo wandered aimlessly towards the workshop. There hadn’t been much work to do lately but he still liked hanging out in there. His brothers had warmed up to him and he enjoyed spending time with them drawing up blueprints to things they’d never be able to build.

He turned a corner and saw circle of kids and yelling and chanting. _Oh shit a fight. I bet it’s Percy._  

Leo elbowed his way past people until he could see the action. Sure enough Percy was smirking, his nose bloody, holding what appeared to be a bull’s horn. _Ah. Another monster got through. Percy would use that as an opportunity to show off._  Leo looked past Percy and saw Nico on the other side of the circle. He caught his eye and then rolled his eyes with a small smile at Percy. Nico smiled and gave a small half shrug. He was acting casual but Leo could see the pride and infatuation all over his face. It was adorable. Leo couldn’t help but smile.

“Peter! What did you do to my car?!” the warden’s booming voice floated over the sound of the crowd.

People began scattering, not so subtle snickers floating from every direction.

Percy completely ignored the warden, instead walking over to Nico and presenting him with the bull’s horn.

Leo knew that Percy would never respond to anything but his own name and he also knew the warden would rather die than call him by his real name. The way Percy and Nico were looking at each other made Leo want to melt. He decided to buy them sometime.

“Warden! I can make your car better than new. Show me the damage and give me a day.”

The warden stopped and turned towards Leo. He clearly hadn’t noticed him. _Not surprising. No one ever does._  The warden gave one last glance at Percy. It was clear he wanted to harass him but he sighed and turned to Leo instead.

“Fine. But no joy rides kid. I know you’re record.”

Leo was a little surprised that the warden knew anything about any of the inmates, let alone him. “I wouldn’t dream of it warden! Just bring your car to the shop and I’ll take it from there.”

The warden turned, apparently in agreement, and Leo trotted over to the workshop. He was excited. He knew the warden probably drove something weird but a car is a car. _I hope it’s really fucked up. I hope I get to rebuild the entire thing!_  

Leo was practically dancing with excitement as he waited for the warden to pull in. The sound of an approaching car drew all of his brother’s to the garage doors at the back of the workshop. Charles opened the doors and Leo heard the sound of a simultaneous inhale from all seven sons of Hephaestus.

The warden pulled up in a brand new Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe. The hood was crushed in as if something had landed on it hard, it’s windshield cracked, and the engine smoking as he drove it but Leo was still in awe.  It’s body was in a beautiful custom purple-red that glittered with flecks of gold. The interior was a rich deep purple leather. The effect was not ruined by the custom leopard print floor mats. It was the most beautiful car Leo had ever seen. Not to mention the most expensive.

“Those things start at $100,000,” he heard one of his brothers say breathlessly.

“$112,400,” Leo corrected him immediately. Leo knew cars.

The warden got out of his car and for once Leo noticed he looked a little uncomfortable. Apparently having seven demigods gaping at you is disconcerting, even for a god.

“Well. Can you fix it?”

Leo didn’t take his eyes off the car, “Yes, but it might take longer than a day.” _I’m going to spend as much time with this car as humanly possible. I want to marry this car._

The warden gave Leo a look that made it clear he knew Leo was going to stall, but instead of glaring or yelling he just sighed. “Fine. But no joy rides or I will personally through you into the Phlegethon.”

“What’s that?”

The warden ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Gods, you really don’t know shit do you? It’s a river of fire in the underworld. Trust me, you don’t want to experience it first hand.”

Leo shrugged, “Fire doesn’t really bother me.”

“This time it would, and it would be even worse for you because you’ve never felt what it’s like to burn before.”

Leo felt his stomach twist. The warden’s voice was tired and certain in a way no mortal could ever be. Leo got a chill as he remembered the warden was immortal. He had been alive for longer than Leo could even fathom. _There’s so much more to the warden than meets the eye._   _I almost feel bad about torching his desk. Almost._

“Are you…praying?”

Piper jumped. She thought no one would notice that she had snuck off her special spot in the woods again. Most people were in the infirmary or cafeteria after the weekly dropping of the wards. Piper had fought hard and she had the bruises forming on her chest and arms to prove it. She hadn’t needed the infirmary though and she was hoping the post battle chaos would give her some time to slip away and have some privacy. Clearly, that hadn’t worked.

Piper didn’t open her eyes to identify the voice. She was annoyed by the intrusion and wanted to get back to what she was doing.

“Yes. I am. I pray twice a day so I don’t know why you sound so shocked. If you wouldn’t mind, I’m a little busy.”

The voice didn’t respond but Piper could tell whoever it was had not left. Piper let out a breath in a huff and finally opened her eyes.

Frank was sitting cross legged a little behind her, looking confused.

Piper felt her initial annoyance melt away. There was something about Frank that was so sweet that she couldn’t imagine being angry at him.

“Sorry I interrupted you,” Frank said, grimacing with guilt.

Piper smiled and motioned for him to come sit by her. “It’s not a big deal. Sorry I snapped at you. What are you doing out here?”

Frank shrugged. “Trying to think I guess.”

“What are you trying to think about?”

Frank sighed, “Hazel.”

“Of course. She still doesn’t realize you’re her secret admirer does she?”

“No. And I now I’m afraid to tell her. What if she doesn’t like me? I don’t want to put any pressure on her…I really didn’t think this through.”

 _Gods he’s so sweet._  

“You’re a son of Mars. Of course you made grand gestures and were super obvious about it. It’s in your nature. You and Reyna both. I know you’re worried but I also know you’d never pressure Hazel into something she didn’t want. That’s what counts here.”

Frank nodded, staring out into the distance. Piper remained silent, giving him time to think about whatever was bothering him. Clearly, it was more than just the Hazel situation.

“Do you ever” Frank started and then paused as if afraid to continue.

“Do I ever what?”

“Do you ever…wish you had a different godly parent? Or maybe that you didn’t have one at all?”

“Not so much lately, but when I was younger all the time. I think most of us do.”

Frank nodded, clearly not reassured.

Piper gently placed a reassuring hand on Frank’s leg.

“You don’t like that your father is a god of war right?”

Frank nodded. A few tears rolled down his face.

“Have you talked to Reyna about it?”

Frank scoffed. “No. Reyna is the most warrior-like person I’ve ever met. I’m sure she doesn’t feel that way.”

Piper had a feeling he was right. “You don’t like to fight do you?”

“No! I hate it! I hate fighting and more than that I hate _war._  My mother died in a pointless conflict that wasn’t even a real war. For what? What good has ever come from war? I just…I wish I could be the son of literally anyone else. I’m so angry. I wish I could confront my father and ask him what the hell his problem is. Hasn’t he seen what war does to people? To the land? And for what? All these people are dying for reasons they probably don’t even understand.”

Piper nodded. He had a serious point. “Have you ever considered that your father might feel the same way?”

Frank turned and looked at her, utter bafflement written all over his face.

“I know you don’t want to be but you are a son of Mars. He is a part of you. The fact that you have very strong opinions about war and your father is a god of war…it seems like you picked up an aspect of him.”

Frank clearly wasn’t following.

“Ok, so I’m the daughter of Aphrodite right? So everyone assumes I’m going to be shallow and judgmental and into breaking hearts and whatever other stereotypes you can think of. But I’m not. I hate most of that stuff. I believe in seeing and celebrating beauty in everything, of encouraging alternate forms of beauty and breaking people out of the boxes that society tells them are beautiful. I believe love is supposed to be radical and freeing, it’s supposed to make you feel safe and capable, and you’re supposed to work to give it to as many people as possible. I used to think I was that way to spite my mom, to prove I was better than all of her pettiness. But then I realized I am that was _because_ of my mom. I am that way because that is who Aphrodite truly is. I know it’s hard to accept when so many of the myths make it seem otherwise, but I know the way things get twisted. My dad is a celebrity. So much of the things people think about him are so far from the truth. It’s the same with our godly parents. The myths aren’t the gods, they are what people _say_ about the gods. There’s a grain of truth in there somewhere but more than that it’s a reflection of the stories people want to hear, the narratives they want to enforce.”

“So…you’re saying that maybe my dad doesn’t love war? That maybe he opposes all of these pointless wars and all of their consequences and that’s why I feel that way?”

Piper nodded, “I mean, it makes sense doesn’t it? Your father has seen more senseless violence and destruction than anyone can imagine. That’s the thing about war, it’s extreme. It has it’s place, but it shouldn’t be unquestioned and pursued for it’s own sake. That’s why there is a god for it. Whenever there’s something people suck at figuring out on their own a god is there to help them, if we can learn to really listen to them.”

Frank was staring into the distance again but a small smile was on his face. “Thank you Piper. That really helped.”

“Of course, I’m always happy to help.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what were you praying about? You looked pretty focused.”

Piper hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should tell him. But she had been praying for guidance and the gods worked in strange ways, her mother especially. _Maybe this will be the answer I’m looking for._  

“Well, I was asking my mother for her help. I’ve always been able to feel what people should be together. I finally had that feeling for myself, but I felt it for two different people and now I’m confused. I’m worried that I haven’t been right about my feelings or something.”

“Well, have you ever been wrong before?”

“No.”

“So why would you be wrong now?”

“Because! I can’t end up with two people!”

“Why not?”

Piper paused, thrown off guard by that question.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” she admitted.

Frank gave her a questioning look. “Really? Seems like the obvious answer to me.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Ok Mr. Military Strategy practical answers. Thanks for your input.”

Frank laughed. “You’re welcome Ms. Touchy Feely, everything is more complicated than it seems.”

Piper playfully pushed him. He didn’t even budge.

“By the way, those feelings that you can sense? Do you? Um. I mean. Do you think me and Hazel would work?”

“Since you just insulted me I’m not telling.”

Frank laughed and got up, offering her his hand to do the same. “Fine, be that way.”

Piper smiled, “I do have some advice for you though. Tell Hazel it was you in private. And bring chocolate.”

 

Nico had been in an amazing mood ever since he and Percy had made it official. Much to his surprise, he was in a good enough mood to help Jason.  

Percy had an opportunity to show off earlier, defeating a minotaur that had showed up out of nowhere in front of a small crowd of cheering demigods. He was in a good mood, basking in the afterglow of victory and attention, but Nico could also tell he was in pain. He refused to go to the infirmary, because he didn’t want to ruin his tough guy image. So instead he was lounging on the ground, clearly favoring his left side, and reading one of his dumb romance novels.

Nico had his head laid on Percy’s chest. He had been enjoying a quiet moment, just the two of them, when Jason and the Stoll brothers showed up.

“The satyrs agree that my case is strong. They are working on looking up how many demigods are in other correctional facilities around the world. Meanwhile, Chiron and I are trying to compile a list of known demigod abilities and their result. That way we can prove that just because a demigod _has_ abilities, doesn’t necessarily mean they are dangerous,” Jason was more or less talking to himself.

“Is there a point to all this Jason? I’m trying to read here.”

“Yes. There is.” Jason looked around nervously.  Nico arched an eyebrow at him. Jason quickly looked away.

“As I said, I’m compiling a list of demigod powers. And since you two are the only other Big Three kids, it’s pretty important that we know what yours are.”

Jason quickly pulled a small notebook out of his jumpsuit that was already filled with notes.

“I already got a lot of kids. Travis and Connor have lots of friends and they were quick to tell. And of course mine. And Leo’s.”

“What are your powers?” Nico asked. _Did you get anything from your dad besides annoyingly good looks?_

“Well…uh. I’m not entirely sure. I still have a lot of memory problems and I don’t really know how much of what has happened to me is real and how much is just nightmares.”

Nico was surprised by this answer. He knew Jason hadn’t showed up until much older than most demigods but he had never bothered to find out why. He just assumed it was Zeus being a prick and giving his son special treatment. _I may not have spent my life free, but at least I know who I am and what I’ve done. Maybe I’ve been too harsh on Jason._

“So, what did you write down for yourself? Handsomeness?” Percy let out a small sarcastic laugh at his own joke. Nico rolled his eyes. He felt a small involuntary smile spread across his face. _Gods he’s so stupid. I love him._  

“No.” Jason sighed, clearly frustrated. “Come on, does it really matter?”

Nico sat up. “Why don’t you want to tell us?”

“Because,” Jason looked down at his feet. “I told you already I’m not sure.”

“Well, what do you think your powers are?”

“Flying,” Jason murmured, almost too quietly for them to hear.

“What?”

“Flying and controlling the winds,” Jason repeated. The last part was a little louder, but Nico was sure he heard Jason say flying.

“Dude…You can fly?!” Connor asked, apparently having heard him too.

“ _Why_ didn’t you tell us sooner? Do you know what we could have been doing with that?” Travis continued for his brother seamlessly.

“I told you! I’m not sure! It might just be dream nonsense. I’ve never done it that I can really remember and be sure about.”

“We HAVE to test this theory,” Connor said immediately.

“I agree. Come on Jason, there’s no time like the present,” Percy said flapping his arms a little.

Jason groaned, “Come on guys, this is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“Performance anxiety huh? That’s not very Zeus like of you,” Percy quipped.

Jason turned bright red.

“In your memories that might be dreams, what were you doing that caused you to fly?” Nico asked.

“Falling.”

A small silence descended as everyone processed the implications of that.

“We could get a rope and tie you to something and have you jump off the roof,” Travis suggested.

Jason shook his head. “I don’t think that would work. Come on guys, let’s just drop it. It’s probably nothing.”

Nico hated to admit it, but he had an idea.

“Remember how you asked about mine and Percy’s powers?”

“Awe inspiring,” Percy said immediately. “Like seriously, way more impressive than maybe flying.”

Nico managed to catch Jason’s eye and looked pointedly at his notebook. Getting the hint Jason handed it over. Nico quickly wrote down two lines and handed the notebook back.

Jason caught on to Nico’s point and quickly tucked the notebook back into his jumpsuit before either of the Stoll brothers could see it.

“Thanks! Sorry for bothering you guys. See you at dinner.”

“Gods he’s such a nerd,” Percy muttered as Jason walked away.

“Not everyone can be a tough guy like you,” Nico teased, gently nudging Percy’s ribs where he knew Percy was incredibly sore.  Percy jumped a little and winced.

“That’s not nice. I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to be nice to me.”

“I’m not nice, you know this about me.”

Percy leaned up and looked Nico in the eyes. Nico felt his face flush. _I will never get over his eyes._ Today they looked like a tropical sea, warm and glittering turquoise.

“You’re wrong. You’re the nicest person I’ve ever met.”

Nico smiled and leaned in and gently pressed his forehead against Percy’s. Nico still wasn’t entirely comfortable with public displays of affection and Percy was being patient with him. When Nico pulled away Percy gently put his arm around Nico’s shoulders and pulled him against his chest. Nico happily leaned into him. He smelled salty. It was the smell of sweat and blood and sea water.

“What did you write on Jason’s paper?”

Jason had quickly slipped Nico’s mind. “Oh right. We’re going to take him cliff jumping tonight after lights out. Leo too.”

“Cool, I guess we can tell Leo at dinner.”

Nico shook his head. “No, neither of them can know yet.”

Percy gave him a confused look. “So what did you write on his paper?”

“I left a message for Travis and Connor.”

 

Leo _really_ didn’t want to leave the workshop. Working on the warden’s car was the best thing that had happened to him…maybe ever. He had spent all day learning about every single feature, refusing to let any of his brother’s come within five feet of the car. They had grumbled about it but respected his claim to the project.

Unfortunately it was time for dinner and Leo knew the warden would be going home soon. With a sigh Leo headed to his office to update him on his progress.

“Well, look who showed up. Is it fixed?”

Leo shook his head. “No, but its close. You can definitely drive it tonight but the hood is still bent and I need to make some minor tweaks to some other things before it’s back at 100%.”

The warden nodded, “This is why I like having sons of Hephaestus around, you guys can fix anything. Beats any mortal mechanic any day, even without the right equipment.”

This was undoubtedly the nicest thing Leo had ever heard the warden say. _Something is up with him._  Leo decided to roll with his hunch.

“That is an amazing car, it sure is a shame you don’t get to show it off.”

The warden gave him a searching look. “What are you talking about Lazlo?”

Leo shrugged, “I mean since you’re just a warden at a juvenile correction facility I’m sure it would look really suspicious for you to have such an expensive car. The mist must make it look like some beat up Crown Vic or something.”

The warden scoffed, “Don’t be stupid. Why would I drive a nice car and have it look like a hunk of junk?”

“Well, then how do you not get investigated for embezzlement or something? Isn’t it suspicious to people?”

Dionysus paused, really looking at Leo. Leo could tell he was debating whether or not to come clean.

After a moment the warden deflated a little, relaxing in a way Leo hadn’t seen before. Somehow his features no longer looked ruddy and bloated but flushed and impish. Then somehow as if the Mist had cleared Leo finally really _saw_ Dionysus. Before he had not been particularly visible…He was more of an impression of an angry self-important middle aged man. Leo had never questioned it before, he just fit what Leo expected him to look like. Now he realized it was all an act. It was all the Mist filling in the persona Dionysus showed to all of them.

Leo felt himself stumble forward he was staring so hard. Dionysus was _beautiful._  That _really_ wasn’t a word Leo had expected to use about the asshole warden but it was true. He looked like a man in his late twenties or early thirties. He had long chocolate colored hair that curled in soft waves around his face and down past his shoulders. He had full soft lips that turned upward like he was smiling all the time. His eyes were a striking violet color, the only thing the Mist hadn’t hidden, with long eyelashes and a playful gleam in them. He was muscular, his arms clearly defined, but lean and lovely, a definite femininity was obvious in all aspects of his appearance.

“I own a bunch of _very_ successful vineyards,” Dionysus said. His voice was different now, pleasant and warm with no hint of arrogance. He shrugged and a little bit of sadness was visible in his eyes. “I do this because someone has to. I was a demigod too you know, before I invented wine and was granted immortality and a place on Mount Olympus. I understand how hard it is.”

“Then why are you such a dick?” Leo blurted before he could think better of it. _Shit. There goes the nice warden._  

Much to his surprise the warden only laughed. “Do you know what I’m the god of _besides_ wine?”

Leo shook his head no.

“Pleasure. Revel. Theatre.  Basically all of the amazing and ecstatic parts of life.” He gave Leo a sad look, “All of the things you are all deprived of here.”

“People in prison, they get so used to this small life. They become afraid of the bigger world and they never get to experience it the way they deserve because of the way this horrible place conditioned them to accept sameness and lack. It’s even worse for kids. But teenagers, you’re all predictable. If there is one thing that can keep you motivated, keep you striving to get out and live your best life it’s spite.” He laughed. “Sometimes proving someone wrong is the most powerful motivator there is to live your best life.” 

Leo processed this for a moment. “Is that why you’re extra hard on Percy?”

The warden nodded, “Some people _really_ need anger to fuel them. I’m happy to provide it.” A soft look appeared in the warden’s eyes. “I’m also the god of madness you know. I have a soft spot for all of the kids who show up here not sure if they are sane are not. Percy’s right, it’s cruel to let them live like that. That’s why I try to get as many demigods as I can into my facility, but some always slip through the cracks.”

Dionysus disappeared then and the warden was back. Now that he had really seen him though Leo could see the playful glint in his eye and the small perpetual smile on his face. “Now get out of here Lazlo. You haven’t eaten all day and dinner waits for no one.”

Leo nodded, tossing the warden his keys and heading for the cafeteria, still pretty dazed.

“Leo!” the warden called after him. Leo turned around, partially shocked he’d used his correct name. “Don’t forget to read that letter.”

Leo suddenly became aware of the envelope he’d tucked into his jumpsuit, long forgotten from earlier that morning. _How did he know about that?_  

 

Piper had always heard people complain about their moms meddling in their life; she figured since her mom was Aphrodite she was exempt from that. Turns out she was wrong.

“You have to talk to your dad,” Reyna said simply.

Piper made a face at her. “I know…I just don’t know what to say.”

“Piper, you can literally make anyone agree to anything you say, what are you worried about?” Annabeth asked.

They were all hanging out in Reyna’s room, which had somehow become their designated spot to chill in the evenings. Reyna was surprisingly cool about the arrangement. She drew the line at people leaving their snacks behind though.

“I always feel guilty when I use my charmpseak on him. It seems kind of unfair.”

“It’s unfair that you’ve only talked to him twice this whole summer because he’s filming a movie,” Hazel chimed in.

Piper frowned. That was true, but she didn’t like being mad at her dad. She was always trying to give people the benefit of the doubt.

“Staying is the best option and you know it,” Reyna told her. “Why are you so afraid to stay?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t want to be selfish I guess.”

Hazel scoffed, “You know what’s selfish? Jetting off to film movies and leaving your daughter with random nannies.”

“Besides, you’d be helping out here. We need all the help we can get. It’s not like you are doing this only for yourself,” Annabeth added in a sympathetic tone.

“And even if you were that would be fine too. You are allowed to do things for yourself Piper,” Reyna added seamlessly.

“Ugh, I liked it better when you guys weren’t all ganging up on me,” Piper complained.

“Get used to it because you are staying. Just call him!” Annabeth tossed Piper her cell phone.

Piper caught it and as soon as it was safely in her hands it began to ring.

“Talk about good timing! Is it your dad?” Hazel asked.

Piper glanced at the screen and blinked in surprise. “No, it says it’s coming from Half-Blood.”

“Who would be calling you?” Annabeth asked.

Piper shrugged. “No clue. I should probably take it though.”

Piper answered the call and got up to go stand in the hall outside Reyna’s room. She may not know what was going on but she had feeling she would want some privacy for whatever it was. She listened to the automated recording telling her an inmate was calling her and pressed the appropriate buttons to accept the call.

“Hey Piper?”  a nervous sounding male voice greeted her.

“Leo?” Piper asked, the surprise evident in her voice.

“Yeah, I’m sorry to bother you-“

“No! Don’t be sorry! I’m so glad you called. I thought maybe you weren’t going to after all.”

There was a brief pause as they both reflected on the day that he had originally agreed to call and how it had been ruined by Piper’s reaction to seeing Jason. Piper made a face. _Stupid. I shouldn’t have reminded him._

“So, how are you? I didn’t see you on Thursday. I hope everything is ok,” Piper continued hoping to get past the awkwardness.

“I’m good. I’ve kind of had a hard week, but things have started to turn around.”

Piper felt a wave of guilt roll through her as she realized she was probably part of the reason Leo’s week had been difficult.

“A minotaur broke through the wards today and trashed the warden’s car so I got to work on it all day. It’s amazing! It’s a 2017 Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe with custom paint job and custom interior. It’s gorgeous, like I can’t even explain how amazing that car is. The minotaur landed really hard on the hood and damaged a bunch of stuff inside. I mainly worked on replacing all the little pieces that got broken today. There’s still a decent amount left to do though, so I should be able to work on it some more--” Leo’s rapid fire explanation stopped abruptly. “Sorry, I’m rambling. I tend to talk a lot when I’m nervous.”

“Don’t be sorry!” Piper replied quickly. “I was enjoying listening!”

“Well, anyway, how are you?”

“I’m good.” Piper braced herself. She hated to bring up a painful topic but she owed Leo an explanation. “Actually, I’ve been feeling really bad about Tuesday. I hope I didn’t give you the wrong impression with the whole Jason thing. I know we haven’t exactly talked about…us or anything but I hope you know that I really want to get to know you.”

Piper pressed her hand against her forehead and winced. _Gods that was so awkward._

“About that…I got a letter that I’m sure you’re gonna want to see.”

Piper felt a nervous tingle spread throughout her body. “A letter?” she asked. A small ball of dread formed in the pit of her stomach.

“Yeah it explains everything. About us. And Jason.”

Piper was so confused. “What do you mean it explains everything? Who is it from?”

“Your mom,” Leo said.

Piper felt like she’d been hit by a train. Her whole life she’d hoped to hear from her mother. She had no idea how to feel now that it had finally happened. A part of her felt hurt that her mom would send a letter to Leo and not her, but more than that she just wanted to see it, more than she had ever wanted anything in her life.

“Can you read it to me?” she asked.

Leo made a hesitant sound. “It’s pretty personal. I think you might want to read it yourself.”

Piper felt tears pricking in her eyes. “No,” she said forcefully. “I want to hear it now.”

Piper didn’t even realize she had put charmspeak into her voice she was so desperate to hear the letter. Leo read the letter to her and the tone of his voice changed slightly, becoming more confident and melodic, as if reading her mother’s words was able to make him sound more appealing. Piper listened attentively, not daring to interrupt or make any sounds. Instead silent tears tracked down her face as she drank in every beautiful word.

 _I love you Mom._  

 

 

Nico woke up after about an hour and a half of sleep. He had big plans for tonight and he knew he needed to be well rested. He’d managed to sneak in a two hour afternoon nap in the library while Percy had read a romance novel. It wasn’t a ton of sleep but it was enough to get him through the night. _I’m gonna sleep all day tomorrow._  

Without a sound Nico let himself dissolve into the darkness of his bunk. He materialized easily in Percy’s cell. Percy was asleep and laying on his stomach. Nico gently ran his hand through Percy’s hair. He felt a little guilty about waking him up but he knew Percy always wanted to be involved in any and all action.

Nico prodded Percy’s back a couple of times. Percy quickly woke up, rolling over to face Nico, riptide in hand. Recognition softened his features and he recapped the sword, turning it back into a pen, and slipped it into his breast pocket.

“It’s me,” Nico whispered belatedly.

Percy smiled. “Thank the gods for that.”

“I’m going to leave you outside for a minute while I get Jason and Leo. Try not to get killed.”

Percy gave Nico a quick kiss. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Nico wanted to keep flirting with his boyfriend but they were on a mission. _Later._ He grabbed Percy’s hand and deposited Percy just outside the prison’s perimeter as promised. Then he shadow traveled back inside, this time into Jason and Leo’s cell.

Jason and Leo were both fast asleep. Jason lay on his side, his arms wrapped around himself tightly as if holding himself together. Leo was sprawled out, one arm hanging off his bunk, the other covering his face.

_Which one of them is the least likely to freak out when I wake them up?_

He decided to start with Leo.

Nico gently kicked Leo’s dangling hand. Leo didn’t react at all. Nico sighed and pushed the arm off Leo’s face. “Hey. Wake up. It’s Nico.”

Still nothing. _Well, plan B._  Nico grabbed Leo’s hand and shadow traveled out to where he’d left Percy. He deposited the still sleeping Leo at Percy’s feet.

“Should I wake him up?” Percy asked.

Nico shrugged, “Your call.”

Nico quickly materialized back in Jason’s cell.

_Please don’t punch me._

“Jason!” he said in a loud whisper. “Jason!” he repeated a little closer.

Jason stirred a little but didn’t wake up. Nico groaned. _What is up with demigods and sleeping?_

Nico put a hand lightly on Jason’s shoulder. Immediately Jason’s eyes opened. Nico took a quick step back, knowing Jason’s eyes wouldn’t be adjusted to the dark and he would probably start swinging at him.

“Jason its Nico, don’t hit me.”

Jason sat up, squinting into the darkness.

“Nico?”

“Remember how you asked about mine and Percy’s powers? Well, consider this a demonstration. Grab my hand.”

Jason hesitated, clearly not sure if he could trust the disembodied voice in the darkness.

Nico stepped forward and reached out his hand to Jason. “Trust me, you’re gonna want to see this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as I love Rick Riordan's books I feel like he was super harsh on some of the gods and way too forgiving with others. Aphrodite and Dionysus were definitely given undeserved negative portrayals.


	11. Love is Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason learns some things about himself  
> Reyna cheats at wrestling  
> Percy gets jealous

If it wasn’t bad enough that Jason couldn’t tell what were memories and what were dreams, now he was feeling the same way about the present.

“Are you sure this isn’t a dream?” Jason asked. He couldn’t shake a creeping sense of unreality as he saw Leo asleep at Percy’s feet.

Percy slapped Jason hard on the arm. “Ow! Man what the fuck?” Jason snapped.

Jason surprised even himself by cursing, he usually avoided it. He was not enjoying this however. He still didn’t understand what was going on and he hated it. A small part of his brain registered how strange and illogical everything was and Jason was terrified that any moment now The Mist would take him again and he’d black out with only fragments of memories left.

“I’m just proving its real! You can’t feel pain in dreams!” Percy replied.

Jason felt his features harden as anger welled up inside of him. “That’s not true.”

Leo picked that tense moment to suddenly wake up.

“WHAT THE FUCK?” he yelled looking around.

“Shhhh! Quiet! There are still guards around here somewhere!” Nico chided him, glancing around nervously.

“Not to mention monsters,” Percy added.

“Are we…outside? Holy shit. Did we escape? Was it my flying idea? Did I get a head injury? I think I have amnesia, I don’t remember how we did it but thank the GODS. We’re free! I knew Jason’s stupid plan wouldn’t work. I’m so glad you guys listened to me and we finally just busted out!”

“Leo will you shut the fuck up?” Percy said, slapping the back of his head.

Leo jumped and brought his hand up to rub where it must have been pretty tender.

“We didn’t escape. I mean…we kind of did but not really. We’re coming back later.”

“Why in the world would we come back?”

“Because we can’t just leave! Come on Leo don’t be stupid.”

Leo frowned and looked over at Jason. “What exactly is going on?”

“I have literally no idea,” Jason said. He was still pretty pissed off and it was evident in his tone.

Nico rolled his eyes. “If you guys would just stop talking I could explain!”

He waited and everyone obliged him, remaining silent as he scowled at them.

“Thank you! Jason, earlier you asked about mine and Percy’s powers. Well, I can Shadow Travel. That’s how I got us all out here. My dad taught me how to do it when I was on the run. Essentially I can step into darkness in one spot and exit it at another spot. It’s…hard to explain but you guys see the end result.”

“That’s the most emo power I have ever heard,” Leo said aloud clearly to himself. Percy slapped him again, but this time with less force.

“What about you Percy?” Jason asked.

“Lots of powers,” Percy said, falling back onto his usual bravado. Nico nudged him and he sighed. _He doesn’t want to tell us._  

“Mainly things to do with water. I can breathe underwater, and contact with water heals me. I can also control the water and communicate with aquatic creatures and horses.”

A stunned silence descended on the group.

“You can talk to horses?” Nico asked incredulously.

Percy blushed. “Yes! It’s not a big deal! Shut up!”

Jason couldn’t help it, the thought of Tough Guy Percy Jackson talking to a horse was the funniest thing he could imagine. He burst out laughing and everyone else was quick to follow.

“It’s not funny! Why are you laughing?” Percy was clearly really embarrassed which made the whole thing funnier.

Nico put a reassuring hand on Percy’s arm and managed to stop laughing. “I can also summon the ghosts of dead soldiers and make them do my bidding.”

Jason and Leo stopped laughing. “What the fuck dude? Your powers are so goth.”

“I can also sense people’s life energy, control shadows and solidify them, talk to ghosts, and control the earth.”

“What do you mean control the earth?”

“I can like move rocks with my mind.”

Leo made a face. “I see why the gods have an issue with you Big Three Kids. Your powers are fucking weird.”

“You can literally set yourself on fire,” Percy countered.

“And you can talk to machines!” Jason added.

Leo gave him a look. “ _Dude._  I told you not to tell them that.”

Everyone burst into laughter again.

_This might be a dream, but at least it’s a good one._

 

Reyna was used to surprise attacks, but surprise romance was a completely different story.           

Reyna left the gym, drenched in sweat, not bothering to put anything on over her purple sports bra. The cool early morning air felt amazing against her screaming muscles and flushed body. Her workout had become even more important to her now that she and Annabeth were…something. Neither of them had officially labeled it yet. They held hands discretely, but they had always done that. After the one earth shattering kiss a week ago they had only exchanged quick shy kisses good night and good morning when no one was looking. Reyna did not want to rush anything but she also hated feeling unsure of things. She needed a strategy at all times and her love life was definitely not exempt from that.

Contemplating the bizarre summer she’d been having Reyna walked up to her room in the relative quiet of the morning. Demigods would be getting up soon to start training, and a handful (mainly Apollo’s kids) were up doing things, but for the most part the camp remained quiet. Lost in thought and the music in her headphones she didn’t noticed the figure leaning on her door until she was only a few yards away. She froze, instinctively planting her feet and assessing the situation, ready for a fight.

The tension in her body quickly melted away when she recognized Annabeth. Her blonde hair was standing up in the back from sleep. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that almost completely covered her shorts and only fuzzy socks on her feet. She had her laptop open on her lap and was focused on whatever she had up on it.

“It’s summer, didn’t you get the memo that we don’t have homework?” Reyna asked playfully.

Annabeth looked up and Reyna did not miss the subtle widening of her eyes and the unconscious biting of her lower lip when she finally saw her. Annabeth looked away and quickly packed up her laptop.

“I had to do something to keep me awake. It’s way too early to be doing things,” Annabeth said gesturing to Reyna’s gym bag.

“Then why exactly are you sitting at my door like a lost puppy?” Reyna opened the door to her room and Annabeth quickly followed her inside.

Annabeth was clearly trying to ignore the question. She climbed onto Reyna’s bed, leaving her laptop on Reyna’s desk.

Reyna gave her a teasing look. “Well? Aren’t you the one who told me mornings start at 10? What brings you here at 6:30?”

Annabeth blushed, just a little, but it was still something Reyna had not seen her do before.

“I uh.” She cleared her throat and started again. “I just wanted to spend some time with you. Alone.”

Reyna felt herself blush. _Don’t get flustered. Don’t jump to conclusions._

 “First thing in the morning?” Reyna asked with a laugh.

Annabeth shrugged, “I figured no one would be up so people wouldn’t notice. Kinda blew that though since I spent the last half hour sitting outside your door waiting for you. I thought you didn’t go to the gym on Saturdays.”

 _I can’t believe she knows that about me_.

“I usually don’t,” she admitted. “But today is tryouts to advance a line so they are only dropping half of the wards. Since we are only judging and coaching I figured I’d get a work out in.”

Perhaps for the first time ever Reyna regretted going to the gym. She wished she’d been there when Annabeth had showed up. She could picture it. She could imagine opening the door and seeing Annabeth there. They would slide under her still warm covers. Reyna would slide her arms around Annabeth and rest her face against Annabeth’s messy hair. They would drift back asleep in each other’s arms, waking together a few hours later to the sun streaming in through the window.

 “Shit,” Reyna whispered.

Annabeth gave her a small smile. “I was trying to be romantic. I’m not great at it.”

Reyna wanted to hold Annabeth. She hated all the distance between them, but she was very aware of how sweaty, and quite frankly smelly, she was.

“Neither of us are,” Reyna admitted.

“This is so much harder than I thought it would be.”

Reyna sat down on the floor. “I feel that way about everything. I wish one thing, just one thing could come easily.”

Annabeth gave her a surprised look. “What do you mean? You’re great at everything! You were the youngest person ever allowed on the front line! You have always been the best at hand to hand combat and sword fighting. Your exercise classes are literally so hard they are now officially punishments for kids who skip training. You’re so hot you became Instagram famous with just one selfie! I mean come on, it’s not fair. Nothing ever seems to phase you.”

Now it was Reyna’s turn to be surprised. “But I worked so hard for all of that! You’ve been here the whole time I’ve been here. You know I used to spend hours training with the practice swords by myself. You know I have practically lived at the gym my whole life. And what about you? We couldn’t have won the war without you! The gods were so impressed with you they let you work on architecture design for Mount Olympus! You had that architecture internship in California last summer and I barely got to see you. Your grades are perfect and you know the myths forward and backward, including all the various versions. You tutor basically everyone in both Greek and Roman. It’s insane!”

Annabeth nimbly hopped of Reyna’s bed and sat down beside Reyna on the floor, leaning her head against Reyna’s shoulder.

“It sounds like we are both great and we both work really hard. If we can manage to do all of that we can definitely make us work.”

 Reyna wrapped her arm around Annabeth, unable to resist. “That sounds like a very wise way to think of it.”

Annabeth laughed, the subtle reference to her mother not missed at all.

“You smell terrible!”

Reyna laughed, pulling Annabeth in closer. “This is your fault for not warning me of impending romance.”

Annabeth began trying to pull away and the two of them ended up wrestling on the tiny space of Reyna’s bedroom floor. They were both laughing the whole time, but they also had years of hand to hand combat experience and neither were interested in backing down.

Annabeth had the advantage. Reyna was tired and sore from her morning workout and Annabeth managed to secure her victory, pinning Reyna face down, one arm twisted behind her back.

“This was an ambush!” Reyna complained as Annabeth released her. Reyna rolled onto her back, breathing hard. Annabeth knew Reyna well enough to stay on top of her. Reyna hated losing so there was always a chance Reyna would pretend to lose just to catch someone off guard and attack again.

Any thoughts of winning their play fight slipped Reyna’s mind as she looked up at Annabeth. The first light of day was coming in the window, making Annabeth’s blonde hair glow. Her face with flushed from exertion, her gray eyes flashing with determination, even as a wide smile made them tilt upward at the corners.

Annabeth’s expression changed, her features softening. She bit her lower lip again, an unconscious gesture Reyna was not familiar with but seriously enjoyed.

 Reyna reached sat up so the two of them were face to face, Annabeth still straddling Reyna’s hips. Reyna put her hand on Annabeth’s cheek, tracing her thumb lightly across her cheekbone.            

“If I ever met Aphrodite I’m sure she wouldn’t look half as beautiful as you do right now.”

Annabeth smiled and reached out her own hand, gently touching the small scars on Reyna’s neck and shoulder.

 “If I ever met Bellona or Ares, or even my own mother, I’m sure all of them combined would not be half as fearsome as you.”

Reyna smiled. “I’m not that intimidating am I?”

“You absolutely are!” Annabeth replied. She leaned in and gave her a lingering kiss, sucking on Reyna’s bottom lip, her arm sliding behind Reyna’s neck. “I am completely terrified of you,” she added when she pulled away.

Reyna leaned in and kissed her again, pulling her close, tangling her fingers in her hair.

“Luckily I’m very brave,” Annabeth continued when the kiss broke. She leaned in and kissed Reyna again, smiling as she did.

“Very brave,” Reyna agreed, kissing her back. Without warning she quickly rolled over, pinning Annabeth beneath her. “I win.”

 Annabeth laughed. “You are such a cheater!”

“All’s fair in love and war.”

“Well, you’re lucky I love you then.”

_She said it. She loves me! She actually said it!_

Reyna wasn’t even aware of the giant smile that spread across her face. “You’re right I am.”

 

Percy liked any plan that involved him getting in the water…so why was he having such a terrible time?  

Nico had shadow traveled all of them to the lake that Percy and Nico had snuck off to when Percy was in solitary. He was trying to be cool but in truth he didn’t like having Jason and Leo there. _This was our spot. Just ours._

Nico apparently didn’t feel the same way because not only did he choose the spot he wasn’t paying attention to Percy at all. _He has a plan. It’s no big deal. It doesn’t mean anything. He just wants to help Jason…I thought he didn’t even like Jason!_

Percy was glad it was dark because he knew he wouldn’t have been able to resist sizing Jason up to compare them. He was feeling weirdly insecure about this whole adventure. Leaving with Nico had been such a private and special thing… _At least I thought it was._

Percy hadn’t set foot in the outside world for almost five years, except for the time he had spent with Nico. The concept of freedom and being with Nico had blurred into one concept in his mind. This adventure was reminding him that if he were to get out, if they were to go to Chiron’s Place there would be other people around. Other friends to make. A whole life to live and absolutely no guarantee Nico would want to do it with him.

Percy was fighting to keep the panic away as Nico explained his plan to everyone. He wasn’t really listening if he was being honest, he was too busy trying not to picture Nico breaking up with him. Nico moving back to Italy. Nico going to be with his sister. Nico falling in love with someone else, probably a blonde, who was happy and positive all the time and never had panic attacks and didn’t struggle with rage issues. Someone who was gentle and funny and would make Nico feel safe and loved all the time. Someone who wasn’t obsessed with his image. Percy’s stomach clenched as he realized it might not even be another guy. _What if he falls in love with one of the girls? What if he doesn’t actually like guys and he’s just lonely and willing to try since he’s in jail and there are no other options? What if he doesn’t even like me? What if he just picked me because he wants me as an ally while he’s inside?_

Percy’s thoughts were spiraling. He could feel himself pulling further and further away from reality, from the hope he had finally been allowing himself to feel, but he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t seem to calm himself down. All he wanted was for Nico to hold him. To just lay down in the darkness and feel Nico’s body pressed against him. He wanted Nico to drop everything and tell him he loved him. To say he would never leave him. That he wanted to get free so they could be together. That he also felt all of these terrifying feelings that Percy felt for about him.

“Percy!” Nico’s voice cut into Percy’s panic.

“Huh?” Percy asked.

“Are you ready?”

“Uh yeah. Always.”

Percy turned and began walking towards the water. He hadn’t been listening but Nico had explained his plan well enough earlier. _Just don’t let anyone drown. I can do that. No problem._  

Percy was glad to have this opportunity to ben on his own. He didn’t want anyone to notice that he had started to cry.

 

Jason wasn’t sure why everyone seemed to think that he could fly but him.

He really wanted to be as confident as Nico and Leo appeared to be about this idea but if he was being honest he was terrified. He stood on the cliff and somehow the darkness only made the drop seem even worse. _I can’t even see the water!_ The idea of plunging into darkness, unable to see the inevitable impact, trusting his life to a reckless teenage murdered who _clearly_ had not been paying attention to the directions seemed like a pretty terrible way to die to Jason.

He felt like he could taste the air between himself and the ground. That space…it called to him. He was aware of it in a way that he couldn’t explain even to himself and it made him even more nervous.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Jason finally said. “I can’t even see anything!”

“You don’t need to see anything, you just need to feel it,” Nico replied.

Jason rolled his eyes, “What are you my life coach now? I’m serious. I don’t want to do it.”

Jason knew he was being rude. Nico had gone to a lot of trouble to set all this up and he had clearly put a lot of thought into this plan. _But he’s asking me to hurl myself off a cliff in the middle of the night! How do I know he isn’t trying to kill me? This is insane. I don’t have to do this. They can’t make me._  

“Hey man, I can give you a light!” Leo chimed in happily, ignoring Jason’s tone.

Leo was clearly enjoying this whole ridiculous charade. Without a trace of hesitation Leo walked over to the edge of the cliff and set his hands on fire. The flickering firelight showed that Leo was giving Jason an encouraging smile. Jason wanted to be able to do this. _I don’t want to let him down. He believes in me. I can’t believe I have to disappoint him like this._  

Jason hated himself for it but he turned and began to walk away from the edge.

“I’m not jumping. I told you I can’t fly. I’m sure it was all just dreams. I don’t know why I told anyone.”

“I thought you’d say that,” Nico’s voice was so faint Jason almost didn’t hear it.

Suddenly the light changed. A second later there was a scream. Jason whipped around and saw a bright light, a fireball, plunging toward the darkness beneath them.

_Leo! He pushed Leo!_

“You piece of shit! I knew I couldn’t trust you!” Jason screamed at Nico as he ran towards the ledge again.

Then without thinking Jason did the only thing he could do. He jumped.

“Leo!” Jason yelled as he plummeted towards the vaguely humanoid blaze.

He was gaining on him rapidly, but Jason was so focused on catching up to him that he didn’t even realize that didn’t make any sense.

Soon he was close enough that he could see Leo’s face. His eyes were wide as he looked at Jason. Jason stretched his hand out toward him and immediately pulled it back, the heat from the flames too much.

“You’re too hot!”

He had no idea if Leo could hear him but he must have at least understood because the flames around his body went out.

Jason reached out again and this time he was able to grab Leo. He could see the ground rushing up towards the two of them. Jason pulled Leo against his chest, rolling over so that he would hit the ground first. Then he closed his eyes and braced for that blinding final impact. _I hope Leo survives. This is my fault. It’s always my fault._

“Dude!” Leo exclaimed. His tone was wrong. He didn’t sound angry or frightened. He sounded the way Leo always sounded.

“Fucking A! Superman! You’re flying!”

Jason opened his eyes. Sure enough he and Leo were suspended in midair about twenty-feet above the ground. _I can’t believe it. I did it. It’s real. It was all real!_

“WE’RE FLYING!” Leo shouted triumphantly into the night.

Jason began to laugh. Tears came out of his eyes unbidden. He had never felt so relieved in his entire life. The adrenaline and Leo’s excitement finally emboldened him and Jason managed to shift positions so he was carrying Leo in the classic damsel-in-distress being whisked away by Superman pose.

_Well since apparently I can fly. Might as well see if I can have fun with it._

Leo let out an excited yell as Jason took off over the lake.

“This is fucking awesome!!!”

Jason laughed. “Don’t get too excited. If you catch fire I will drop you.”

“I can’t believe my soul mate can fly!”

Jason stopped suddenly, too caught off guard to focus on what was going on.

“Your what?!”


	12. Love in a Hopeless Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo, Piper, and Jason finally get to talk   
> Nico and Percy enjoy some privacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact prior to this chapter the word love appeared in some form 69 times throughout the work (including my notes)

Leo could feel the envelope in his pocket as if it were a lug wrench.

Leo had called Piper as soon as he could on Saturday morning. He had accidentally let slip a comment to Jason that he really _couldn’t_ explain without showing him the letter, but even though it was just as much about Jason as it was about him and Piper, showing him without asking for Piper’s permission felt too much like a betrayal.

Mercifully, Piper had quickly agreed that Jason should read it. Now…things were strange. Not bad strange…but strange. A part of Leo wished that Aphrodite had never sent the letter. Somehow knowing who your soulmate is _before_ you actually start dating made the whole starting a relationship process much more awkward.

It had been an incredibly long weekend. Today was finally Tuesday, the day that Piper, Leo, and Jason were going to all be together and talk through all of this weirdness.

Leo was surprised by how not nervous he felt. He felt like he was on the verge of experiencing something that would finally put his life in context. Like the first time he had worked on repairing a car and _knew_ that working on machines was a part of him that he would never lose.

Jason came up behind Leo and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. The touch was a little hesitant and awkward, but it was a start and it made Leo happy. “I’ll be there as soon as I talk to the satyrs. It shouldn’t take the whole time.”

Leo nodded. “We’ll be waiting.”

Demigods began streaming into the library. Leo scanned the tables. He saw Piper before she saw him. She looked perfect. Her hair was half up and half down, a few braids randomly appearing in both sections. She was wearing her volunteering shirt of course but she had decorated it with marker drawings. Colorful flowers, random swirls, and puffy clouds all danced across the fabric. On anyone else it probably would have looked childish but on Piper it was stunning.

Piper finally saw Leo and he saw her light up. _I guess it’s time._  

“Hey,” he greeted her with a smile. “I think I have something you want.”

He pulled out the envelope and slid it over to Piper.

 

Piper couldn’t believe it was finally happening. She had waited 16 years to hear from her mother and here it was! The pale pink envelope seemed like so much more than a letter. It had the same quality as watching the sky turn cotton candy pink right before the sun rose. It was like the gentle comforting sound of an azure sea. It was like the first bite of a perfect cream puff. _It’s my mom._

Tears pricked in Piper’s eyes as she drank in the energy of the letter. She would read it later, but for now just getting to feel something that had that trace of her mother’s energy was more than enough.

Piper looked up at Leo. “What do you think she’s like?”

Leo thought for a moment, also staring at envelope. “I think…I think she’s so beautiful it makes people uncomfortable, but then she’s so kind that people get over it. I think she has a beautiful laugh, and it makes everyone who hears it feel better. I think she bumps into people and causes them to fall right into the arms of their soulmates. I think she drinks strawberry banana smoothies and has a perfect manicure all the time.” Leo looked up, as if coming back from a trance. “I think she’s really proud of you.”

Piper was crying now and she didn’t care. Leo reached out and gently grabbed her hand, running his thumb lightly over the back of her hand in a small soothing gesture. His hands were rough, much rougher than anyone would guess for such a young man.

Piper looked at Leo and really saw him. His curly hair was brushed away from his face and still damp. Piper felt herself smile. _He fixed his hair for me._ His eyes were almond shaped and he had surprisingly long lashes for a boy. His nose turned up slightly, even though it had clearly been broken before, making him look both cute and a little dangerous. His chin came to a delightful point that Piper found herself wanting to kiss.

Piper realized she had leaned towards him unconsciously. He blushed and Piper could feel the heat radiating off his face. Tiny embers floated between them. Piper giggled.

“When I was really little I used to write letters to my mom telling her what I wanted my soulmate to be like. I said I wanted him to be a bad boy,” she exaggerated the phrase and Leo laughed. “I wanted him to be tough and wild, good with hands, and super hot.” She laughed. “She really delivered huh? You’re literally the hottest person I think I’ll ever meet.”

Leo smiled. Not his usual half smirk, a genuine smile that made his eyes glow like a campfire.

“Is it weird if I say I love you? I know it seems way too soon, but I swear I fell in love with you the second I saw you.”

Piper grinned. “That’s not love, that’s lust.”

“Definitely that too,” Leo agreed.

“Love isn’t something you fall in, it’s something you build. Something you work on and grow over time.”

“Well, building and working on things are pretty much my specialty so get ready to be loved by the best.”

Piper laughed again. _I have a feeling that whenever we’re together I’ll be laughing a lot._  

 

Nico and Percy had decided to skip the Half Blood visit. Neither of them had any siblings to visit and their only hope for getting to Chiron’s Place was for Jason’s plan to work. Otherwise The Mist would never let two Big Three demigods out of the system. Percy had asked the Hephaestus kids to make him something to practice his sword fighting with. They were so thrilled to have a project beyond random building maintenance that they had not only made him a tricked out dummy, but given him permission to practice with it in the workshop while they visited with the Half-Blood House volunteers.

Nico had been thrilled when Percy brought him to the empty workshop. They would finally have some time to be alone together, without the threat of guards or other inmates showing up, at least for a while. But Percy had immediately started fighting the stupid dummy and was basically paying no attention to Nico.

“So…we’re alone,” Nico commented.

“Yes, we are,” Percy agreed. He didn’t stop practicing his sword fighting. He didn’t even look at Nico.

Percy had been acting weird ever since they found out Jason could fly. At first Nico thought Percy felt insecure because of Jason’s skills, but that didn’t seem like Percy. _He already kicked the crap out of Jason once, he isn’t threatened by him, flying or no flying._

“Are you mad at me?”

“No. I have to keep in shape you know. Especially now that I have a cute boyfriend to protect,” Percy gave him a cocky grin but Nico wasn’t going to let him off that easily.

“I’m serious Percy, you’ve been really distant this whole weekend. What is it? I thought we told each other everything. Isn’t that our whole thing?”

Percy didn’t answer. He sliced at the air with even more energy.

Nico stepped in front of Percy, trusting that Percy had enough control to not accidentally chop his arm off.  Percy saw the expression on Nico’s face and sighed. He pulled the pen cap from his pocket and capped his sword, returning it to pen size and back to his pocket.

“It’s stupid. I’m stupid.”

“You’re not stupid. What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… the lake. That was kind of our place. Taking Jason and Leo there made it feel less special. And the more I thought about it the worse it got because I don’t care what Jason or Chiron says I can’t picture ever getting out of here. We could end up spending the rest of our lives locked in some fucking prison, and never have any privacy. We might never get a chance to sleep in the same bed, unless it’s in fucking solitary.” The fact that Percy had been dreaming of sleeping in the same bed as him made Nico’s whole body flush.

Percy pushed his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “My life outside was fucked. I spent my entire childhood terrified and running from monsters I wasn’t even sure was real. My mom loved me and did everything she could, but she had that evil fucking boyfriend who would beat both of us whenever he could. I never had any friends because I kept failing out of school. Going to jail…it didn’t feel like that huge of a deal before. It’s not like I had anything else going for me and at least in here I have a reputation and people respect me.”

He looked at Nico and Nico felt his breath catch when their eyes met. “But now I have you and suddenly I’m realizing I am missing out on so much. I know I’m thinking way too far ahead and I don’t want to freak you out, but it’s so fucking unfair. I might never even be able to take you on a real date. I might never get to swim in the ocean again. You made me realize how much I want things to get better and I’m just so angry because I have no idea what to do to make things ok.”

Nico felt like he was floating. “You love me don’t you?”

Percy looked startled for a second. Then he stepped forward and gently grabbed Nico’s hand, pulling him into his chest. Nico felt Percy’s arms slide around his waist. His heart was hammering in his chest. He could feel heat rising into his face and his stomach flipping.

“I do love you,” Percy said softly as if he was afraid to say it out loud.

“I love you too,” Nico whispered. All of the air had disappeared from his lungs, from the entire world, when Percy had said he loved him and a tight whisper was all he could manage.

“Do you think Jason’s plan will work?”

Nico could hear the anguish in the question. He desperately wanted to comfort him, but he knew that all of Percy’s anger and fear and sadness was totally justified.

“I don’t know,” Nico said honestly. He felt Percy deflate a little and Nico looked up at him. “But I do know that either way we’ll end up together. They could transfer you to a prison at the bottom of the ocean and I would still find a way to shadow travel to you.”

Percy laughed, and Nico smiled at him, glad to have given him at least a little bit of happiness. _I would do anything to make him happy._  

“In the meantime, we are alone now…” Nico said again trailing off leadingly even as he glanced away embarrassed at his own suggestive tone.

Percy looked around as if he hadn’t noticed. “We are aren’t we?” He looked down at Nico with an wicked glint in his eye and a teasing smile that made Nico’s stomach flip. Percy stepped forward, still looking down at Nico so there was less than a half inch of space between their bodies. Nico instinctively stepped back and felt himself bump into a workbench. Percy put his hands on the workbench on either side of Nico’s body, still not touching him, but standing close enough for Nico to feel the warmth of his body.

“What do you think we should do?” Percy asked.

Nico heard himself catch his breath. _Cazzo!_

Percy smiled, his playful expression cutting the tension a little. “Wanna make out?”

“ _Sì per favore_.”

 “I always forget your first language is Italian. That’s hot. Say something else.”

Nico hadn’t consciously realized he’d spoken in Italian and he didn’t care. He grabbed Percy’s jumpsuit and pulled him into a kiss. Percy was quick to reciprocate, wrapping one arm around Nico’s waist and leaning into him so their bodies were pressed together.

_Infine!_

 

“Is now a good time for me to join?” Jason asked. Leo felt himself smile at the way Jason was awkwardly standing a foot away from the table.

“Yes! Of course!” Piper gestured to the empty chair near him. Jason still looked a little uncomfortable as he sat down at the spot at the round table between Piper and Leo.

“So, what’d the Satyr’s say?” Leo asked. He knew talking about his project would help Jason loosen up a little.

Jason sighed and smoothed out a stack of papers. “Not great. They agree with everything I said and have put together an amazing case, but we need someone from Mount Olympus to actually file the case.”

Piper frowned, “That means you need a god…but we are suing the gods. That effectively makes it impossible to challenge them on anything.”

“Exactly,” Jason said grimly.

“Well, do they know anyone who will be willing to file the case for us?” Piper asked.

“They are trying to contact any gods they think might be sympathetic, but they are all incredibly busy and they don’t like to challenge Jupiter so it could take a lot of persuading.” Jason paused staring dejectedly at his perfectly arranged stack of papers for a moment. “The satyrs said it could take years to find someone to back this.”

“I think I know someone,” Leo said.

Jason looked up at him, his blue eyes more intense than Leo had ever seen them before.

“Really? Who? And how do you just casually know a god? Please don’t make a stupid joke right now I’m…” Jason trailed off. Leo could practically see the stress radiating off of him.

“Have I ever given you reason to doubt me?” Leo asked indignantly. He immediately held up a hand to silence Jason. “Don’t answer that. Did you forget that we all know a god from Mount Olympus?”

Jason looked at him blankly but Piper caught on.

“The warden? You’re kidding right?”

Realization morphed Jason’s features and was immediately replaced with defeat.

“Fuck. Our best option is that pompous asshole? We’re doomed.”

“Hear me out. Dionysus is way better than he seems. I’m sure he would be willing to file this case for us.”

Jason gave him an incredulous look. “Since when do you call him Dionysus?”

Leo quickly recounter his experience with Dionysus a few days before. He watched as Jason and Piper’s expressions softened into something more hopeful.

“You know…I hadn’t thought of it before but you’re right. I never really noticed what the warden, I mean Dionysus looks like. He just always looked like what I thought an asshole prison warden would look like. I can’t believe I didn’t realize that was The Mist!”

“He really said all that? About wanting better things for us?” Jason asked.

“Come on man, you are going to have to start trusting me. I am your soulmate after all.”

Jason blinked, clearly caught off guard by Leo’s quip.

He looked over at Piper suddenly and then back at Leo and then down at the pink envelope sitting in front of Piper.

“Wow, I was so focused on this legal stuff I totally forgot about…us.”

Piper smiled at him encouragingly, “Don’t worry, we know it’s awkward. Right now it’s ok that your priority is this case,” she gestured indicating all of them, “all of this will work out in it’s own time.”

Jason glanced back down at the envelope again.

“I’ve never heard from my father…” he trailed off and Piper and Leo stayed silent, giving him time. “I think that’s one of the reasons I was so excited about this case. I was really hoping to at least get to see him.”

“I heard my dad’s voice once,” Leo said quietly. Jason and Piper looked over at him. “It was right after my mom died. I was with my awful aunt who hated me. It was the worst time in my entire life. I was miserable, I couldn’t go to my mom’s shop anymore, so I had nothing to work on. One day I started messing with this ancient radio I found in my aunt’s garage just to have something to do. Suddenly it just started working. It was a man talking about forging metal.”

 Leo smiled as he remembered the voice coming out of the completely dead radio. He had never heard it before and yet he had known the instant he heard it that it was someone who knew him. Someone who loved him. Someone who wanted him to keep living. He had known that voice was sent from somewhere to give him hope.

 “I listened to him describe how to make all sorts of different things. I could probably make you any knife you can imagine because I can still hear everything he said. I listened for hours. My aunt didn’t care what I was doing and I just knew that if I left or moved it would cut out. Eventually he was finished with whatever show he was doing and that was it. I didn’t put together that it was my dad until just now.”

“I don’t know which one of you I’m more jealous of,” Jason said.

Leo and Piper both laughed.

“Our parents suck.”

“They really do,” Piper agreed. “I still love them though.”

Leo smiled and nodded, remembering how much that night of forging instructions had meant to him. “Me too.”

“By the way, you missed it but Piper said I’m the hottest person she’ll ever meet.”

Jason groaned and looked at Piper. “Not you too? I thought you’d be my ally against his terrible jokes.”

Piper laughed. “Sorry but you’re head was in the clouds with that idea. Get it? Because you can fly?”

Leo laughed as Jason groaned again and slumped in chair. “You two are the worst!”

_Spending the rest of my life with these two is going to be so much fun._

 

 

 


	13. Lives Worth Fighting For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason gets good news  
> Percy beats up Jason again  
> Annabeth and Reyna are a perfect couple

“And this is the first time you’ve ever heard anything from your mom?” Annabeth asked.

Piper nodded, looking reverently at the pink envelope in her hand. “At least, the only time I’ve been aware of it.”

“It’s weird that she sent it to Leo and not to you,” Hazel commented, not one to sugarcoat her opinions.

Thankfully, Piper was hard to offend. “It is weird, but love is weird.” Piper looked up at the other girls in the room. “Have you guys met your godly parents?”

Hazel nodded, “I spent the past few decades with my dad in the underworld. He’s cool. I was actually pretty sad when he told me I should come back. I liked being with him.”

“Wow, I guess it never dawned on me that you actually got to spend time with him while you were…you know…” Piper replied.

“It’s ok you can say dead,” Hazel said with a laugh. “Close enough to dead anyway. It was nice. I liked the underworld. I still miss it sometimes. It feels like home, in a way that nowhere in my first life ever did. This camp is definitely a close second, but the underworld…that’s my real home. That’s where I belong.”

“What’s it like?” Reyna asked.

“It’s beautiful. So much more beautiful than you can imagine. There are all of these plants that grow without sunlight so they are ghost white, but they get just the faintest hint of color whenever Persephone walks by. There are frescoes made entirely out of gemstones.” Hazel sighed. “It’s impossible to describe, but it’s so much more than any heaven you could imagine. I love it.”

“I guess dying won’t be so bad then,” Annabeth commented. Piper made a face but Hazel just turned her dreamy smile towards her. “Trust me, you’ll love death.”

Reyna placed her hand over Annabeth’s thigh and Annabeth could feel the protective energy in the gesture.  “Ok Hazel, morbid. Let’s focus on the living right now.”

“I’m not wrong, but yes, the living. Have you met your Bellona?”

Reyna shook her head. “Nope. And I doubt I ever will. Roman gods are pretty hands off, especially when it comes to war. You have to earn the title of warrior, you have to earn the favor of the gods, and you sure as hell have to earn favor from my mother.”

“I’m sure you’ve done that,” Piper commented.

Reyna shrugged, “I work for it every day. It isn’t a static goal, it’s a never ending process of continuing to prove myself. I’m sure she’s proud of me, but that’s all the more reason to keep pushing myself.” She looked over at Annabeth. “I remember when you met your mom.”

Annabeth sighed. “Please don’t remind me.”

Piper and Hazel looked at Annabeth expectantly. Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll tell you. I’ve actually met my mother a few times. The first time was when the Titans were attacking and she gave me my cap of invisibility. An amazing gift by the way, especially when you are trying to win a war. I was amazed by her. She was tall and strong and so sure of herself. She was everything I’ve always wanted to be. When I was offered the chance to design some buildings for the reconstruction of Mount Olympus she would look over my designs sometimes.”

Annabeth felt her anxiety rise with just the memory. “Once I made an error in my scale and she immediately pointed it out. Another time she looked at my plans and just said “Too Roman.” And they just disappeared.” Annabeth sighed. “Long story short, she is amazing and I’m a disappointment.”

Annabeth felt Reyna’s hand find hers and gently squeeze it. “That’s not true. You overreact to criticism. You know she’s proud of you and all the work you did.”

Annabeth shrugged. She still remembered that project. It had been the coolest, and most stressful thing she’d ever done in her life, and that definitely included fighting in the war. At least in the war she didn’t have her mom there critiquing her form. She had called Reyna in tears after every single negative comment her mother had made. Reyna had always been reassuring and made it seem not so terrible, but still, it was not an experience Annabeth wanted to repeat.

Of all of her comments though, it was the “Too Roman” one that still haunted her. Annabeth could live with being imperfect, but she wasn’t sure how to handle the possibility that her mother still held a grudge against Romans. Reyna was the most important person in her life, then and now. Annabeth knew her mother wasn’t exactly one for feelings, but she always hoped she kept an eye on her and was happy for her. The idea her friendship with Reyna might be a disappointment to her mother made her equal parts anxious and angry. Now that her relationship with Reyna was definitely past friendship… _Will my mother still love me? Has she ever loved me? Would I be able to tell either way?_ Annabeth tried not to think about her mother because questions like this would always arise. She gently squeezed Reyna’s hand to reassure her that she was still there. _I may never know if my mother loves me, but Reyna does. She always has. That’s enough._

 

Jason felt like an idiot as he knocked on the door to the warden’s office. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Leo’s story…but his experiences with the warden had been less than pleasant. He genuinely couldn’t imagine that he would be willing to use his real name let alone help him file a lawsuit against the gods.

The door yanked open suddenly and there was the warden, purple eyes narrowed suspiciously over his ruddy cheeks. “What?”

“We need your help Lord Dionysus,” Leo said. Jason was surprised at how reverent Leo sounded.

The warden glared at them some more, not saying anything. Jason felt Leo shove his elbow into his ribs. Jason forced himself not to sigh as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a bottle of Diet Coke the Stoll brother’s had scored for him.

“Just let us explain while you drink this. I promise that once you’re done we will be out of your hair. We just need a few minutes of your attention.”

Jason caught the faintest glimpse of a genuine smile playing at the corner of the warden’s mouth but it disappeared so quickly Jason couldn’t be sure if he’d imagined it. 

“Ten minutes.” He reached out and took the bottle from Jason. “Get on with it.”

Jason sat down and pulled the papers out of his jumpsuit. The warden was still giving him a look that made Jason want to punch him in the face. _What is the point? He clearly doesn’t care._ He felt Leo reach out and place his hand on his knee. The gesture startled and reassured him in equal parts. _I may not trust the warden but I do trust Leo._  

Jason took a deep breath and began to explain exactly what he wanted to do. He was surprised, once he began talking he felt comfortable and confident. Words flowed from him effortlessly, and he could tell that he was explaining everything perfectly and convincingly. When he finished the warden still had an inch of soda left in his Diet Coke.

The Warden took a long drink letting the silence stretch out in the room. Jason didn’t squirm. _This is a test and I will ace it._ At some point he had laced his fingers in Leo’s without realizing it. They held hands beneath the desk and Jason gently squeezed Leo’s, which was sweating.

“Lord Dionysus, you were one of the most famous demigods to ever live before you were granted immortality and a seat on Mount Olympus. You know what it means to be one of us and I know that all of these centuries have not made you forget, that’s why you run this facility. Please, you could help us all, and all of the other demigods that are suffering out in this world because the gods have turned their backs on them. Only you can help us, only you can end this horrible cycle that we have been forced into. Please help us.”

The warden steepled his fingers and stared Jason in the eye. Jason didn’t look away. “You’re telling me that you want me to go against the gods, go against my own father, and file a lawsuit to help you punk kids?”

Jason didn’t hesitate. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m asking you.”

A giant smile spread across the warden’s face. He threw his head back and laughed, and the laugh was full of joy and youthful rebellion. Suddenly Jason saw him for real. Dionysus sat across from him. His chocolate colored curls danced as he laughed. His purple eyes were lit with joy and just a hint of madness. The leopard print button up shirt he wore was off a button and instead of looking cheesy and ridiculous it looked careless and hip on his slender frame. Jason felt himself look away, suddenly uncomfortable as he realized he was looking at the most beautiful man he’d ever seen. _Why is everything so fucking weird in my life?_

“You’re crazy kid. I love it. Count me in.”

“Really?”

“Really. Now go call the satyrs. You have a lot of work to do which I have no intention of helping with by the way.”

Jason wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

“Thank you, my Lord Dionysus. I don’t know what to say,”

The warden waved away his thanks, “Yeah, yeah, we can discuss how you can honor me after we win. The bottle’s empty so get out.”

Jason just nodded, “Thank you!” he repeated, electing to ignore the payment comment for now. _I will cross that bridge when I come to it._

He and Leo rushed into the hallway, too excited to walk at a normal pace.

“Holy shit! You did it!” Leo’s hands caught fire he was so excited.

“ _We_ did it. I never would have asked the Dionysus if you hadn’t told me to.”

“Fuck…we could really get out of here,” Leo said a little dreamily.

Jason smiled, “I’d hate for you to have to be here for a _full year_.”

Leo rolled his eyes, “Aw fuck you man that was forever ago, get over it.”

Jason laughed. “Never. I’m going to harass you about it for the rest of our lives.” He grabbed Leo’s hand then, intertwining their fingers the way they had been in the warden’s office. “Come on, you can call Piper while I call Grover and Hedge.”

 

“Wait, so you’re telling me that the warden is _intentionally_ the biggest asshole possible?” Percy asked incredulously.

Jason had the nerve to look annoyed, “Percy, that’s not the point.”

“Right, the point is you’re perfect and you’re going to _save us all_ ,” Percy mocked him. He wasn’t sure why Jason was pissing him off so much today but everything about him was getting on his last nerve.

“What is your problem Jackson?”

“Oooh, big man using my last name. Fuck off Jason. I know you still haven’t figured it out but not everyone has to worship at your feet.”

Percy felt the air between him and Jason begin to get charged ever so slightly as the anger simmered between them. Nico was sitting by him and conspicuously silent. Percy was glad he wasn’t trying to interfere. _He gets it._

Jason gave Percy a condescending fake laugh. “Oh that’s rich coming from Percy The Legend Jackson. You’ve been preening for anyone who will look from the second you got here. Have you ever considered that you’re just jealous that there’s something you can’t fight your way out of? Maybe you just realized your elementary school education won’t mean shit once I get us all out of here?”

Percy’s rage was so explosive he didn’t even realize he’d lunged for Jason, he just found himself suddenly pinning Jason to the ground. Percy began driving his fists into Jason’s face as fast as he could while Jason was still caught off guard. Unfortunately, Jason recovered quickly and managed to roll over, tossing Percy off of him. They both quickly scrambled to their feet, fists raised, ready to fight.

A circle of demigods had formed around them and people were cheering and yelling, mostly for Percy, but a few cheers for Jason could also be heard. Percy wasn’t aware of any of it. He was angry. He was in his element. In a fight all that mattered was surviving and that meant taking out his opponent by any means necessary.

Percy knew that soon guards would be there to break up the fight and he was determined to do as much damage as possible before that happened. He dropped his shoulder and charged Jason at full speed. They were close enough together that the unexpected rush worked and he caught Jason in the gut winding him. Jason reacted quickly though and got Percy in a headlock and landed two devastating blows to his stomach. Percy felt the air leave his body and the contents of his stomach try to come back up. It was disorienting, but Percy had faced much worse. Mainly it just made him even angrier.

Percy turned his head and bit Jason’s forearm as hard as he could. He tasted blood and felt his teeth break skin. It worked, Jason let him go. That was the only opening he needed. He turned around, still basically flush with Jason’s body, and simultaneously punched Jason in the stomach and jerked up his knee, nailing him in the crotch. Jason fell to his knees and vomited. Percy had clearly won which made him happy, but this victory didn’t feel as good as they usually did. Jason looked up at him and Percy could see no anger or shame in his expression, only sorrow.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Jason said.

“You’re right. You shouldn’t have.”

“ON THE GROUND. HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD.”

_Damn these guards took their sweet time getting here._

Percy complied and dropped into the familiar position.

Fifteen minutes and a chewing out by the warden later he was being shoved into a cell in solitary.

“Took you long enough,” Nico said. Percy smiled as he saw his boyfriend stretched out on his cot. “I call dibs on the bed.”

Percy laughed. “I did all the work to get us down here, I think I deserve it.”

Nico shrugged, “I mean I’m already on it sooo…”

Percy was amazed at how quickly his mood changed when he was with Nico. All of that blind rage he’d felt earlier had completely melted away and was replaced with legitimate joy. _I love him so much._  

“Skootch.” Nico complied, shifting towards the wall and Percy laid down beside him. The two of them were chest to chest, there was barely room for both of them on the tiny bunk. Percy looked into Nico’s almost black eyes and felt tears begin to swim in his eyes.

“I’m sorry I lost it earlier. I hope I didn’t disappoint you.”

Nico reached out and gently brushed a stray tear from Percy’s face.

“You could never disappoint me. Especially not for beating the crap out of Jason. If you didn’t do it I would have.”

Percy laughed and leaned in and kissed Nico. “Thanks babe.”

“I mean it. He had no right to talk to you like that.”

Percy shrugged, feeling a little awkward. He didn’t really want to talk about it. “I mean he was kind of right. I barely even passed the sixth grade. I’ve been in for so long…I’ll probably end up back in here even if Jason fixes the Mist.” Percy felt tears falling again. “I’m just an idiot who likes romance novels, can’t control his temper, and gets off on fighting.” He laughed through his tears, the sounder full of bitterness and self-loathing. “But hey, at least I will always be hot shit in prison.”

Nico pushed him away and straddled his chest. Percy was confused and more than a little aroused by the action. Nico’s unrelenting stare made it clear he just wanted to make Percy really look at him.

“Perseus Jackson I want you to swear of the River Styx you will never say those horrible things about yourself again.”

“I can’t swear not to tell the truth,” Percy said looking away.

Nico grabbed his face and turned his head, again forcing Percy to look into his eyes. “Percy you can do and be anything you want in this life. You could probably hold up the sky if you decided to. You are going to get out of here and make an amazing life for yourself. Now swear. Swear on the River Styx you will never give up on yourself.”

Percy never felt more loved than he did in that moment. “I swear. I swear on the River Styx I will never give up on myself.”

Nico smiled. “Thank you.”

Percy leaned up and kissed Nico hard, burying his hand in the back of his hair and hoping to convey the intensity of his feelings with the kiss. Then he looked Nico directly in the eyes and said. “I swear on the River Styx that I love Nico Di’Angelo and I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to give him the life he deserves.”

Percy saw Nico’s eyes widen in shock.

“Percy! Do you know what you just did? You can’t…you can’t just say things like that! Vows made on the River Styx are serious, you will die if you break them.”

“I know, you told me that already.”

“Than why would you do that? You can’t be reckless like that, you just swore you wouldn’t be.”

“Nico, that wasn’t reckless. I said it because I mean it. The only reason I even have a life I care about is because of you and I will do _anything_ to make you happy. Forever. I swear on the River Styx I will always love you Nico.”

Now Nico was crying, he leaned his forehead on Percy’s chest, one hand twisted in the front of Percy’s shirt.

“Percy…”

Percy kissed the top of his head. “It’s ok Nico.”

“But if you… you will _die_ …”

Percy cut him off. “Nico, if I ever stop loving you it will because I’m already dead.”

 

“Can you believe it?” Annabeth asked. She didn’t have to turn around to know that Reyna had just joined her on the roof. She liked to come here sometimes when she needed to think. She liked seeing the grounds of Chiron’s Place stretching out in front of her, as far as she could see. A part of her was able to pretend that the whole world was that beautiful and safe.

Reyna sat down next to her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders, pulling her to her side. Annabeth leaned into the familiar feel of Reyna’s torso.

“Do you think it’s going to work?” Annabeth asked.

“Yes.”

“It’s so fucking unfair.”

Reyna began gently playing with Annabeth’s hair.

“We have been doing all this for so fucking long and now all of a sudden the gods are just going to listen? Just because Jason shows up and convinces the warden- the _warden_. He’s been there for so long and he’s just not done anything up until now? I just…” she trailed off. She was furious and she knew that just talking about it wouldn’t fix anything. This was rage that she would never be able to express or channel. It was rage at the injustice of generations of demigods who had been ignored and left for dead. It was rage that the gods could have changed things whenever they wanted to and chose not to. It was rage for all of the demigods who died in prison, who were arrested for nothing as teenagers and never got back out, rage for all of the demigods who did get out and were never the same again.

Annabeth turned and looked at Reyna. Reyna had distant and hard expression on her face. There was a steely focus to her gaze over the camp. Her mouth was a firm line and she was too still, a stillness that came from such utter self-control that it accidentally gave off how tightly wound she was.

“I don’t think I will ever forgive them.”

Reyna nodded. “Some things are unforgiveable.”

Annabeth glanced towards the sky, the lingering concept of gods in the heavens still in her mind even though she knew that they were really splitting their time in New York and LA and meddling in the lives of mortals.

“The trial is going to be in one of the building’s I designed. That’s part of the legal defense, how fucking _valuable_ demigods can be. Because apparently we have to justify our right to just be alive and not hunted for sport or shipped away to prison.”

Reyna sighed and Annabeth felt the tension leave her body which shocked Annabeth. She turned around alarmed, a little worried Reyna had fainted or been attacked.

“What?”

Reyna shrugged. Her braid had come loose. She shook her head, letting her hair do what it wanted.

“How can you be so calm? I’m _furious._ ”

“I am too. Or I was. I just…I tired of them having so much power of me. It would be so easy to hate them and let them ruin my life that way and I don’t want that. I can’t control whatever they do. All I can do is fight for what matters to me. Being happy matters to me. This camp and everyone in matter to me. I will fight for them however and whenever I can, but” she shrugged. “Part of fighting for them is loving them. Bellona’s temples…outside is considered foreign soil. When the Romans waged war they would throw a spear onto it. It used to bother me. I guess it still does. My mother…sometimes it seems like all there is to her is violence. Did you know her priests used to cut themselves to honor her?” Reyna made a sound between a scoff and a laugh. She was still looking out towards the sun that was dipping low towards the horizon and casting burnt orange light over her face.

“But I get it. Some of it at least. War is something that happens outside to protect what’s _inside._ You protect it because you love it, because it’s worth the violence and loss and all of the horrible things that come with war.”

“Reyna?” Annabeth asked, not sure how this related to the news about Jason getting his lawsuit filed against the gods.

“I guess I just finally realized that war only exists because there is something worth fighting for. That something is here. It’s this place and these people and this life. My life. I want my life to be worth fighting for, and everyone else’s life too.”

Annabeth was full on crying then. Reyna pulled her close and Annabeth sobbed into Reyna’s chest. Annabeth felt Reyna’s breath catch. She looked up and saw that Reyna was crying. Her hair was streaming around her face, her eyes were red and tears were shining in the late evening sun. The image would be forever burned into Annabeth’s mind.

“You’ve always made my life worth fighting for,” Annabeth told her.

Reyna reached out and brushed some tears off Annabeth’s face.

“I’ve been fighting for you for so long. I used to think I did it for my mother…but I’m not sure now. You can’t really fight for someone who doesn’t care about you. You can only fight for someone you love, and that’s always been you.”

Annabeth buried her face in Reyna’s chest again, just wanting to be close to her.

“I wish we could have fallen in love during a better summer. I hate that we can’t just be normal teenagers and make out in cars and go on goofy dates and…I don’t even know what normal teenage couples do! But I wish we could do it.”

Reyna laughed which made Annabeth happy. “We still can. I’m pretty sure that normal teenagers make out on rooftops.”

“I don’t think I’m done crying,” Annabeth said with a laugh. The two of them laughed together, even as they both knew they had a lot of crying left to do. They stayed up there and watched the sun set and then the stars come out, holding onto each other, alternating laughing and crying.

By the time the moon rose full and bright overhead they had moved on to making out. Their kisses were slow, their bodies pressed as close as possible. There was no fight, instead they both completely let go, disappearing into the moment, into the feeling of holding the person who meant the most in the world in their arms.

Eventually the heat of the day completely faded and even the heat from Reyna’s body wasn’t enough to keep Annabeth warm.

“We should probably go inside.”

Reyna nodded, looking into her eyes with a tenderness that Annabeth had never seen before.

“Would it be ok if I slept over tonight?” Reyna asked. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

Annabeth stood up holding out a hand to help Reyna up. “Of course it’s ok. I don’t want to be alone either.”

They held hands and headed inside to Annabeth’s room. Reyna had opened up to Annabeth more that day than ever before.

“Thank you,” Annabeth told her, squeezing her hand.

“For what?”

“For trusting me. For comforting me. For letting me comfort you. I don’t know, for all of it. You don’t know how much everything you said and did today meant to me.”

Reyna smiled at her, “Piper has been lecturing me about _being vulnerable_.”

Annabeth laughed at the slight mocking in her tone. “Remind me to thank her later for that.”

Reyna rolled her eyes and casually took off her shoes and put them alongside the neat line of Annabeth’s shoes inside her door. Annabeth followed suit and watched as Reyna took off her sweatshirt, began to unbutton her jeans, and then paused, clearly unsure whether or not to continue. It was pretty standard for them to sleep in their underwear during sleepovers when they didn’t bring pajamas but things were different now and something that had been such a given before now took on a new meaning.

Annabeth tried to act casual as she walked over to her dresser and removed her shirt and jeans, tossing them into her hamper, reaching into her drawer for an oversized sleep shirt which she quickly put on over her sports bra and underwear. She tossed one to Reyna and looked away when Reyna stripped off her clothes to put it on, hoping Reyna wouldn’t notice that she was blushing.

Annabeth quickly turned off her light. She had twinkle lights strung on her walls and they gave enough light for the two of them to get into Annabeth’s bed.

“Are you sure this is ok?” Reyna asked, facing Annabeth as she got under the covers.

“I’m sure, I promise.”

Reyna laughed a little, “Piper is going to freak out when we tell her we slept together.”

“You’re terrible about teasing her,” Annabeth said with a laugh that was equal parts nerves and amusement.

Reyna shrugged, “It’s not my fault she always assumes things.”

There was a slight pause and Annabeth felt her heart racing. “I mean it wouldn’t be an unreasonable assumption. I mean you are my girlfriend and you are spending the night.”

“That’s the first time you’ve ever used the g-word. I liked it, say it again.”

Annabeth laughed “My _girlfriend_ is so full of herself.”

“Well, that’s only because _my girlfriend_ is the smartest, most beautiful, fiercest, and most bad ass girl on the planet.”

“Bad ass? Really? That’s the best you could do?”

Reyna laughed. “What would you have preferred? Loving? Kind hearted? Hard working? Creative? Overly organized? Obsessively neat? Intimidatingly perfect?”

Annabeth shoved her a little and they both laughed. “Don’t be mean. How about some normal compliments?”

“Such as?”

“Fun. Sexy. Witty. Funny.”

“Sexy?”

Annabeth felt herself turn bright red and her heart jump into high gear. “Oh so I’m not sexy?”

“No, you definitely are, I just didn’t know I was allowed to comment on it.”

“Well, you are.”

“Good to know,” Reyna paused and then looked into Annabeth’s eyes, one hand finding the dip of Annabeth’s waist and resting there tentatively. “Am I allowed to act on it?”

“Yes,” Annabeth said despite how fast her heart was racing, knowing that Reyna wouldn’t accept just a nod.

Reyna’s hand moved up Annabeth’s body, finding her face and pulling her into a kiss as their bodies pressed into each other, closing any space that had been between them.

Later Annabeth lay on Reyna’s bare chest, one leg hooked over Reyna’s the perfect stillness of the moment interrupted by an unexpected giggle from Reyna.

“What?”

“Piper is _really_ going to freak out now.”

That made them both laugh. They both fell asleep still smiling.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!!!!!!!  
>  Friendly reminder that sex is supposed to be fun and you know you're with the right person if you can talk about it and laugh about it, before, during, and after  
> !!!!!!!!!  
> Also I love pitting Percy and Jason against each other, the one canon fight was not enough. (Percy will always win but it's good to give him a bit of a challenge c(: )


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